Anthropology
Ancient starch
Starchy plants and especially roots like taro and yams have long been one of the most important staples for human groups. Roots are particularly important for people living in Asia and the Pacific region. The history of agriculture in these areas is very poorly known because most tubers do not preserve well in the archaeological record and do not produce plant fossils such as pollen or phytoliths. For this reason a group of archaeologists developing methods for studying ancient starch grains which are abundant in soils and as residues on the edges of stone tools. The first step in trying to establish an identification key for starch grains has been to measure a large number of grains from modern plants and to see which traits discriminate among taxa. We have had moderate success scanning electron microscopic images of grains under polarised light at x200-500 using a video camera, storing the images onto CD and them using an image analysis package to study them. This research is ongoing.
Participants
Richard Fullagar
Robin Torrence
Further information
People and Plants in Oceania: Starch Reference Collection and Identification Key
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