Introduced taro (Colocasia esculenta) and yams (Dioscorea spp.) in Podtanean (2700–1800 years BP) deposits from Mé Auré Cave (WMD007), Moindou,New Caledonia

Plant microfossil analysis was carried out on deposits bearing Podtanean (2700–1800 years BP) ceramics from Mé Auré Cave, Moindou, New Caledonia. Starch residues of introduced Colocasia esculenta, Dioscorea esculenta and one or more, undifferentiated Dioscorea species were identified. The latter include Dioscorea alata, D. bulbifera, D. nummularia and D. pentaphylla. The data provide the first direct evidence of prehistoric horticulture in New Caledonia.     

Paleoethnobotany in the Neotropics from Microfossils: New Insights into Ancient Plant Use and Agricultural Origins in the Tropical Forest

Analysis of plant microfossils (phytoliths, pollen, and starch grains) from archaeological and paleoecological sediments in the humid Neotropical forest can provide information on some formerly intractable problems in American paleoethnobotany and archaeology. Each technique has strengths that redress the other's shortcomings, and all three microfossils can be recovered from early sites, securely identified, and dated. Agricultural origins, Pleistocene/ Holocene environmental changes, and the evolution of slash-and-burn agriculture are three important issues that yield substantial results to phytolith, pollen, and starch grain study. Microfossils of a number of domesticates, including maize, manioc, squash, bottle gourd, arrowroot, and leren, have been identified in contexts dating from 9000 to 7000 radiocarbon years B.P. The scope and methodology of traditional paleoethnobotany should be expanded to routinely include microfossil study.     

Estimating the Higher-Mode Response of Ductile Structures

While the importance of higher-mode actions is appreciated within the engineering community, the affect that ductile nonlinear response has on higher-mode characteristics and the subsequent implications this has for design has received little attention. In this article, the manner in which the higher-mode response of frame-wall structures is affected by inelastic behavior is closely examined and a means of accounting for this in design is proposed. The work focuses firstly on the characteristics of the higher modes present at the development of peak response and then considers how these characteristics would affect the total forces in the building. The study utilizes a series of nonlinear time-history analyses of two different groups of RC frame-wall structures subject to a suite of real records. It is shown that a new modal analysis approach that incorporates transitory inelastic modal characteristics gives significantly improved predictions of peak base shear in frame-wall structures than more traditional modal analysis methods which use elastic higher-mode characteristics. The issues associated with the use of transitory inelastic modal characteristics are discussed and various challenges that would need addressing for the prediction of other response parameters and structural types are identified.     

Analysis of Plant Microfossils in Early European Latrine Fills from Russell,Northern New Zealand

Microfossil analysis of latrine fills from the early European (1830s) settlement of Russell, northern New Zealand, provides direct evidence for diet. Microfossils identified include pollen of maize (Zea mays), Brassicaceae (e.g., mustard, broccoli), Allium type (e.g., onion) and mint (Mentha), and starch grains of maize and potato (Solanum tuberosum). Wetland microfossils (pollen and algal spores) provide clues to source and quality of drinking water.     

Techniques for Integrating Macrobotanical and Microbotanical Datasets: Examples from Pre-Hispanic Northwestern Honduras

What are useful quantitative approaches in situations with highly variable data quantities, contexts, and sampling strategies? How can paleoethnobotanical findings be interpreted without over-representing data or selling results short? Described here are several major issues and potential solutions. The four sites of the study are located northwestern Honduras, a region with fairly hostile environments for paleoethnobotanical preservation. For this reason, several types of botanical residues are combined to provide a more holistic picture of past ethnobotanical practices. In some cases, these data prove to be complementary, while in others, they are corroborative. This article includes tactics for integrating multiple sample protocols, multiple and overlapping diagnostic elements, multiple and overlapping clade categories, multiple and overlapping samples in a single locus, multiple and overlapping formation processes, and multiple and overlapping cultural practices. In each section, the issue, sampling strategies, quantitative approaches, and a few results are described.     

Evidence for introduced taro (Colocasia esculenta) and lesser yam (Dioscorea esculenta) in Lapita-era (c. 3050–2500 cal. yr BP) deposits from Bourewa,southwest Viti Levu Island,Fiji

Starch residue, pollen and phytolith analysis was carried out on coralline deposits from a c. 3050–2500 cal. yr BP Lapita site at Bourewa, Viti Levu, Fiji. Starch grains, calcium oxalate crystals and xylem cells of introduced Colocasia esculenta and Dioscorea esculenta were identified, involving a process of elimination of possible taxa by cross-correlation of microfossil types. The data provide an eastward extension of direct evidence of Lapita horticulture in Remote Oceania previously identified in Vanuatu.     

Clues to Stone Tool Function Re-examined: Comparing Starch Grain Frequencies on Used and Unused Obsidian Artefacts

The identification of plant residues observed on prehistoric stone artefacts has often been used to inform on tool function without adequate consideration of potential contamination due to post-depositional processes. The paper redresses this balance by proposing a methodology which combines use-wear and residue analyses with systematic testing of depositional context to distinguish residues formed during tool use from accidental contamination. A case study involving obsidian artefacts from an open site in Papua New Guinea is used to illustrate the new approach. Starch grains, a class of residue which has had little attention outside Australia, were chosen as the focus of study because of their abundance at this site. The frequency of starch grains extracted from residues on stone artefacts was compared with those in sediments adhering to and adjacent to the artefact. A use-wear study conducted as a blind test provided an independent measure of whether the artefacts had been used. The frequency of starch grains was shown to be significantly correlated with used artefacts and not correlated with unused artefacts or the sediments. The case study demonstrates the importance of testing for contamination and also illustrates the benefit of studying starch grains as a class of plant residue.     

小米能否制作面条的实验研究:兼论喇家面条的成分

根据中国西北部喇家遗址出土的面条状遗存,面条的历史被追溯到4000年前。喇家面条被描述为由带壳的小米磨成的粉制成面团并通过反复拉伸或挤压的方法制作而成。为了了解这种面条制作工艺,我们进行了面条试制实验和煮面实验,并记录了面条中的淀粉粒在烹调过程中发生的形态变化。研究表明,纯的粟黍面粉制成的面团不能拉伸成面条,煮过的粟黍淀粉粒形态也与喇家"面条"遗存中的"淀粉粒"不符。我们认为来自喇家"面条"的小米颖壳植硅体及似淀粉粒的颗粒是否来自面条需要进一步研究。     

The decomposition of starch grains in soils: implications for archaeological residue analyses

Recent research involving starch grains recovered from archaeological contexts has highlighted the need for a review of the mechanisms and consequences of starch degradation specifically relevant to archaeology. This paper presents a review of the plant physiological and soil biochemical literature pertinent to the archaeological investigation of starch grains found as residues on artefacts and in archaeological sediments. Preservative and destructive factors affecting starch survival, including enzymes, clays, metals and soil properties, as well as differential degradation of starches of varying sizes and amylose content, were considered. The synthesis and character of chloroplast-formed ‘transitory’ starch grains, and the differentiation of these from ‘storage’ starches formed in tubers and seeds were also addressed. Findings of the review include the higher susceptibility of small starch grains to biotic degradation, and that protective mechanisms are provided to starch by both soil aggregates and artefact surfaces. These findings suggest that current reasoning which equates higher numbers of starch grains on an artefact than in associated sediments with the use of the artefact for processing starchy plants needs to be reconsidered. It is argued that an increased understanding of starch decomposition processes is necessary to accurately reconstruct both archaeological activities involving starchy plants and environmental change investigated through starch analysis.     

Chemical Analysis of Starch‐Like Mineral Crystals to Eliminate Misidentification in Ancient Residue Research

To clarify issues involved in problematic identification of ancient starch granules, we investigated suspected granules found in residues from a Neolithic grinding stone in north‐east China. The chemical compositions of suspected granules and modern starch granules were tested via SEM–EDS. The results show that the elemental composition of the suspected granules mainly comprises O, S and Ca, which is similar to the composition of calcium sulphate, but quite different from that of real starch granules, which show high levels of C and O, with very low level of other elements. The findings in this study act as a warning that tiny mineral granules may be misidentified as starch, and also indicate that the method of SEM–EDS can be useful to confirm the nature of suspected granules in ancient starch analysis.