长沙风篷岭汉代漆器制作工艺中淀粉胶黏剂的分析

为研究汉代髹漆工艺中是否含有淀粉粘结剂,利用淀粉粒分析方法提取了长沙风篷岭汉墓出土的漆器残片中的残留物.实验结果显示:在偏光显微镜下观察到具有十字消光特性的淀粉颗粒,粒度大小在13至25μm,且有加热糊化的现象,加热温度在60至80℃,加热时间大约在30min以内.本实验证实在汉代漆器制作过程中使用了淀粉作为粘结剂,为研究汉代漆器的制作工艺提供了新的科学方法.     

Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene Plant Movements in Southern Kyushu, Japan

From the late Pleistocene to early Holocene in Japan, subtropical and temperate forest elements moved northwards. This affected human choices and access to food sources. More settled patterns of living spread northwards gradually, and northern hunting-gathering-fishing people began cultivating vegetables and cereal crops. This poster reports the presence of ancient starch residues on stone artefacts in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyushu. The oldest residues recovered are dated by context to about 30,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. If such residues can be identified, it may be possible to detect a hypothesized early phase of tropical plant movement northwards during warmer climate peaks in the late terminal Pleistocene, as well as during the long period of Holocene warming that followed. As an initial step towards identification, the morphological characteristics and condition of the starch granules are described and compared to those of other sites in early Japan.     

A short note on starch and xylem of Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato) in archaeological deposits from northern New Zealand

This study examines preservation of microfossils identified as introduced Ipomoea batatas in soils from northern New Zealand. Starch grains and xylem cells showed highly variable preservation, from good to extremely poor. For starch grains, the latter included brown-staining, expansion and distortion of the grain and vacuole, loss of the Maltese cross, pitting, cracking, fragmentation and disintegration. Degraded xylem showed similar brown-staining, occasional cracking, cross-wise fragmentation, with wall pits becoming progressively less visible or showing distortion, expansion and coalescence.     

Potential misidentification of in situ archaeological tool-residues: starch and conidia

Microscopic identification of organic residues in situ on the surface of archaeological artefacts is an established procedure. Where soil components morphologically similar to use-residue types exist within the soil, however, there remains the possibility that these components may be misidentified as authentic residues. The present study investigates common soil components known as conidia, fungal spores which may be mistaken for starch grains. Conidia may exhibit the rotating extinction cross under cross-polarised light commonly diagnostic of starch, and may be morphologically indistinguishable from small starch grains, particularly at the limits of microscope resolution. Conidia were observed on stone and ceramic archaeological artefacts from Honduras, Palau and New Caledonia, as well as experimental artefacts from Papua New Guinea. The findings act as a caution that in situ analysis of residues, and especially of those less than 5 μm in size, may be subject to misidentification.     

Plant processing strategies and their affect upon starch grain survival when rendering Peltandra virginica (L.) Kunth,Araceae edible

There is a long history of human interaction with plants of the Aroideae subfamily (Araceae). Despite these plants' chemical defenses against animal and vegetal predation, humans have targeted their starchy corms, tubers and rhizomes for dietary purposes. In the Eastern Woodlands of North America, early Europeans described the Native population as utilizing the highly acridic Peltandra virginica (arrow arum) for subsistence needs. In order to render this resource edible, however, the acridic principle first needs to be eliminated. Our study investigates the affect these processing activities have on the integrity of arrow arum starch grains. Findings from this study demonstrate that environmental variables specific to individual processing procedures may be more influential on starch grain survival than simply the temperatures reached during cooking.     

Using plant microfossils from dental calculus to recover human diet: a case study from Tell al-Raqā'i,Syria

Dietary reconstructions based on plant microfossils, such as starch grains and phytoliths, have been useful in increasing our understanding of past human populations. Microfossils have been recovered from sediments, stone tools, and, more recently, dental calculus. Methods for recovering microfossils from dental calculus have yet to be firmly established and there is some question about potential damage to the teeth. Using a sample of teeth from the middle Holocene site of Tell al-Raqā'i, Syria, we tested using a dental pick to sample the calculus. ESEM images taken before and after sampling show no damage to the enamel surface, and examination of the recovered microfossils show that this method provides ample material for study, even when not all of the calculus is removed from the tooth. Preliminary identification of the plant microfossils suggests that these individuals were consuming a variety of plant foods, but that domesticated cereals such as wheat and barley made up a surprisingly small portion of their diet.     

Reassessing the northern limit of maize consumption in North America: stable isotope,plant microfossil,and trace element content of carbonized food residue

In combination, the analysis of carbonized food residue for stable C and N isotopes, elemental composition, and plant microfossils (phytoliths and starch granules) offers a powerful tool for understanding patterns of prehistoric maize (Zea mays) consumption in small-scale societies. Using this approach, we conclude that maize was more widely consumed in North America than previously suspected. Between ∼AD 700 and 1600, despite little or no archaeological evidence of gardening, corn was a widespread component of diet on the eastern Canadian prairies. This pattern, furthermore, extended into the adjacent boreal forest at about the same time. However, carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) values on food residue samples vary widely, suggesting significant overall dietary differences from one region to the next. Analysis of a subset of residue samples for elemental composition (using ICP-OES [inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry]) may help identify broad trends in the provenience of foods consumed at these sites.     

Starch granules,dental calculus and new perspectives on ancient diet

Recent work in various parts of the world has suggested the possibility of ancient starch granules surviving and adhering to archaeological artefacts. Often this information is used to infer aspects of diet. One additional source for recovery of archaeological starch granules is dental calculus. The presence of plant food debris in dental calculus is well known but has not been not widely investigated using archaeological material. The extraction of starch granules from dental calculus represents a direct link to the consumption of starchy food by humans or animals. Using dental calculus also sidesteps many other questions still inherent in using starch granules to reconstruct aspects of ancient diet, such as the effects of diagenesis on their morphology; as the starches are trapped inside a concreted matrix they are less likely to alter over time. We used amylase digestion by a starch-specific enzyme to confirm the material as starch.     

Early and mid Holocene tool-use and processing of taro (Colocasia esculenta), yam (Dioscorea sp.) and other plants at Kuk Swamp in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

Recent multidisciplinary investigations document an independent emergence of agriculture at Kuk Swamp in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. In this paper we report preliminary usewear analysis and details of prehistoric use of stone tools for processing starchy food and other plants at Kuk Swamp. Morphological diagnostics for starch granules are reported for two potentially significant economic species, taro (Colocasia esculenta) and yam (Dioscorea sp.), following comparisons between prehistoric and botanical reference specimens. Usewear and residue analyses of starch granules indicate that both these species were processed on the wetland margin during the early and mid Holocene. We argue that processing of taro and yam commences by at least 10,200 calibrated years before present (cal BP), although the taro and yam starch granules do not permit us to distinguish between wild or cultivated forms. From at least 6950 to 6440 cal BP the processing of taro, yam and other plants indicates that they are likely to have been integrated into cultivation practices on the wetland edge.     

Archaeobotanical evidence of prehistoric maize (Zea mays) consumption at the northern edge of the Great Plains

Analysis of starch granules, phytoliths, and plant macrofossils from archaeological features and carbonized food residue provides important new insight into the extent of prehistoric maize (Zea mays) consumption on the North American Great Plains. These data suggest that consumption of maize, and probably other cultigens, was widespread on the eastern Canadian Prairies between approximately AD 1000 and 1600. Domesticated plants may have been grown locally, acquired through trade, or transported into the region following dispersal of family groups from horticultural villages located elsewhere. However, the lack of strong artifactual evidence of gardening, and the small-scale nature of sites on the eastern Canadian Prairies indicate that local horticulture, if practiced, was non-intensive.