Ancient Starch Research

Ancient Starch Research
Author: Robin Torrence
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 547
Release: 2016-09-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1315434873
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What role did plant resources have in the evolution of the human species? Why and how have plants been managed and transported to new environments? Where, how, and why were plants domesticated, and why do the patterns vary in different parts of the world? What is the relationship between the intensification of food production and the rise of complex societies? Numerous new studies are using starch granules discovered in archaeological contexts to answer these questions and improve our knowledge of past human behavior and environmental variation. Given the substantial body of successful research, the time has clearly come for a comprehensive description of ancient starch research and its potential for archaeologists. This book fills these roles by describing the fundamental principles underlying starch research, guiding researchers through the methodology, reviewing the results of significant case studies, and pointing the way to future avenues for research. The joint product of over two dozen archaeological scientists, Ancient Starch Research aims to bring the important new field of ancient starch analysis to the attention of a wider range of scholars and to provide them with the information needed to embark on their own research.

Trials and Tribulations of Ancient Starch Research

Trials and Tribulations of Ancient Starch Research
Author: Andrew Robert Laurence
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:
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Historically, earth ovens have been used to provide direct evidence of ancient plant use through the recovery of charred macrobotanical remains and indirectly by means of experimental archaeology and the ethnographic record. Experiments suggest that direct evidence of ancient starch-rich plant use can be obtained through the recovery of starch granules deposited on fire-cracked-rock (FCR) during cooking episodes even in regions where macrobotanical remains are scarcely preserved. Starch contamination, however, can enter into the archaeological record providing "background noise." Therefore, this study analyzes the results of the Paluxy Sand Geophyte Project to determine if archaeological starch (starch that is both cultural and ancient in origin) can be differentiated from contamination using FCR recovered from heating elements in well-preserved earth ovens at Fort Hood, Texas. FCR, non-cultural rock control samples (RCS), and air control samples (ACS) were processed and analyzed from 27 earth ovens at 6 sites. Contamination control measures were used, including the use of a clean bench, powder-free latex gloves, washing samples prior to processing, spot sampling, and comparisons between starch granule assemblages recovered from FCR and control samples. Laboratory and field equipment were processed and analyzed for contamination. Only one feature (Feature 4 from 41CV984) yielded starch granules that are unambiguously archaeological in origin, rather than the result of contamination, whereas starch assemblages from the other sites could be archaeological or contamination in origin. Small sample sizes, differential preservation, and/or the cooking of non-starch-rich plants could account for the lack of differences between FCR and RCS samples. Finally, maize (Zea mays) starch granules were recovered from all sample types suggesting that maize starch, most likely from "powder-free" gloves and air-fall is a significant source of starch contamination. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/149525

Case Studies in Paleoethnobotany

Case Studies in Paleoethnobotany
Author: Deborah Pearsall
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2018-07-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1351009664
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Case Studies in Paleoethnobotany focuses on interpretation in paleoethnobotany. In it the reader is guided through the process of analyzing archaeobotanical data and of using that data to address research questions. Part I introduces archaeobotanical remains and how they are deposited, preserved, sampled, recovered, and analyzed. Five issue-oriented case studies make up Part II and illustrate paleoethnobotanical inference and applications. A recurrent theme is the strength of using multiple lines of evidence to address issues of significance. This book is unique in its explicit focus on interpretation for "consumers" of paleoethnobotanical knowledge. Paleoethnobotanical inference is increasingly sophisticated and contributes to our understanding of the past in ways that may not be apparent outside the field or to all practitioners. The case study format allows in-depth exploration of the process of interpretation in the context of significant issues that will engage readers. No other work introduces paleoethnobotany and illustrates its application in this way. This book will appeal to students interested in ancient plant–people interrelationships, as well as archaeologists, paleoethnobotanists, and paleoecologists. The short methods chapters and topical case studies are ideal for instructors of classes in archaeological methods, environmental archaeology, and ethnobiology.

Acorns and Bitter Roots

Acorns and Bitter Roots
Author: Timothy C. Messner
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2011-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0817356495
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!--StartFragment-- Starch grain analysis in the temperate climates of eastern North America using the Delaware River Watershed as a case study for furthering scholarly understanding of the relationship between native people and their biophysical environment in the Woodland Period People regularly use plants for a wide range of utilitarian, spiritual, pharmacological, and dietary purposes throughout the world. Scholarly understanding of the nature of these uses in prehistory is particularly limited by the poor preservation of plant resources in the archaeological record. In the last two decades, researchers in the South Pacific and in Central and South America have developed microscopic starch grain analysis, a technique for overcoming the limitations of poorly preserved plant material. Messner’s analysis is based on extensive reviews of the literature on early historic, prehistoric native plant use, and the collation of all available archaeobotanical data, a review of which also guided the author in selecting contemporary botanical specimens to identify and in interpreting starch residues recovered from ancient plant-processing technologies. The evidence presented here sheds light on many local ecological and cultural developments as ancient people shifted their subsistence focus from estuarine to riverine settings. These archaeobotanical datasets, Messner argues, illuminate both the conscious and unintentional translocal movement of ideas and ecologies throughout the Eastern Woodlands.

Chemical Properties of Starch

Chemical Properties of Starch
Author:
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2020-03-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1838801154
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This book is about the chemical properties of starch. The book is a rich compendium driven by the desire to address the unmet needs of biomedical scientists to respond adequately to the controversy on the chemical properties and attendant reactivity of starch. It is a collective endeavor by a group of editors and authors with a wealth of experience and expertise on starch to aggregate the influence of qualitative and quantitative morphological, chemical, and genetic properties of starch on its functionalities, use, applications, and health benefits. The chemical properties of starch are conferred by the presence, amount and/or quality of amylose and amylopectin molecules, granule structure, and the nature and amounts of the lipid and protein molecules. The implication of this is comprehensively dealt with in this book.

Gluten-Free Ancient Grains

Gluten-Free Ancient Grains
Author: John R.N. Taylor
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2017-07-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0081008910
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Gluten-Free Ancient Grains: Cereals, Pseudocereals and Legumes covers grains that are not related to wheat. This includes sorghum, the major millets - pearl, foxtail, proso and finger millet, as well as teff, the major pseudocereals - quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat, and emerging legume grains - lupin, cowpea, Bambara groundnut and marama beans. These are all characterized as gluten-free grains. The book provides key information on the sustainable production of these grains. Ancient grains are characterized by their ability to produce a crop under harsh environmental conditions where the major cereals are not-sustainable or even fail. In order to meet growing food demand, and with water resources becoming scarce, this is a highly valuable quality. Chapters review the major grains, analyzing their production and manufacture processes and detailing their impact on long-term good health. Of interest to many people and organizations in the food production chain, this book will be of significant value to agricultural scientists, food company innovation and R&D managers, academic and food company nutritionists and dietitians and governmental and non-governmental health ministries and research institutes. Provides a comprehensive overview of non-wheat grains Reviews the manufacture and sustainable production of these grains, detailing their abilities to grow in harsh conditions Analyzes the nutritional value of ancient grains and their health-promoting qualities

Handbook for the Analysis of Micro-Particles in Archaeological Samples

Handbook for the Analysis of Micro-Particles in Archaeological Samples
Author: Amanda G. Henry
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2020-07-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 303042622X
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This handbook provides a resource for those already familiar with some kinds of micro-particles who wish to learn more about others, or for those just starting out in the study of microremains who wish to have a broad understanding about microscopic archaeology. Topics covered in this handbook include diatom microfossils, starch granules, pollen grains, phytoliths, natural fibers, volcanic glass, minerals, insect remains, and feathers. Archaeological investigations increasingly rely on specialist identification of microscopic remnants found in sites. These micro-particles can provide information about the site environment and human activities that may not be apparent from artifacts and materials preserved on the macro-scale, and have given us new, and often high-profile, information about our past. The investigation of this "invisible archaeology" - that is, invisible to the naked eye - is still somewhat new, and generally each kind of micro-particle is studied individually. Researchers become experts in a narrow range of micro-particle types, but may be less familiar with, or even completely unaware of, the multitude of other forms that are frequently encountered in archaeological samples. This handbook’s accessible approach is suitable for those at the beginner level.

Archaeological Science Under a Microscope

Archaeological Science Under a Microscope
Author: Michael Haslam
Publisher: ANU E Press
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2009-07-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1921536853
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These highly varied studies, spanning the world, demonstrate how much modern analyses of microscopic traces on artifacts are altering our perceptions of the past. Ranging from early humans to modern kings, from ancient Australian spears or Mayan pots to recent Maori cloaks, the contributions demonstrate how starches, raphides, hair, blood, feathers, resin and DNA have become essential elements in archaeology¿s modern arsenal for reconstructing the daily, spiritual, and challenging aspects of ancient lives and for understanding human evolution. The book is a fitting tribute to Tom Loy, the pioneer of residue studies and gifted teacher who inspired and mentored these exciting projects.

Paleoethnobotany

Paleoethnobotany
Author: Deborah M Pearsall
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1161
Release: 2016-06-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1315423073
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This new edition of the definitive work on doing paleoethnobotany brings the book up to date by incorporating new methods and examples of research, while preserving the overall organization and approach of the book to facilitate its use as a textbook. In addition to updates on the comprehensive discussions of macroremains, pollen, and phytoliths, this edition includes a chapter on starch analysis, the newest tool in the paleoethnobotanist's research kit. Other highlights include updated case studies; expanded discussions of deposition and preservation of archaeobotanical remains; updated historical overviews; new and updated techniques and approaches, including insights from experimental and ethnoarchaeological studies; and a current listing of electronic resources. Extensively illustrated, this will be the standard work on paleoethnobotany for a generation.