Alcances y limitaciones para la identificación arqueológica de gránulos de almidón de razas nativas de Zea mays (Poaceae) del Noroeste argentino

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Abstract

Se caracterizaron y analizaron microscópicamente los gránulos de almidón de ocho razas nativas de Zea mays del noroeste de Argentina (pisingallo, cristalino colorado, perlita, calchaquí, complejo tropical, dentado amarillo-colorado, chullpi y capia). Se generó una base de datos de referencia con caracteres morfológicos y métricos de los gránulos de almidón de las razas locales para dar cuenta de la diversidad a nivel intra e inter-racial. El objetivo de este trabajo es reconocer elementos referenciales para lograr mejores y más confiables identificaciones de los gránulos de almidón de maíz en muestras arqueológicas. Para este fin se utilizaron herramientas estadísticas descriptivas y se realizaron análisis multivariados; se aplicó un tratamiento estadístico de los datos para estimar la clasificación de los gránulos de almidón por razas. Los resultados mostraron una alta variabilidad para cada raza y una gran superposición entre las razas. Ninguna de las razas de maíz presentó características distintivas que permitan una discriminación en grupos.

Translated abstract

Scope and limitations for the archaeological identification of starch grains from native landraces of Zea mays (Poaceae) in Northwestern Argentina. In this paper we characterized and analyzed microscopically starch grains of eight Zea mays modern landraces from Northwestern Argentina (pisingallo, cristalino colorado, perlita, calchaquí, complejo tropical, dentado amarillo-colorado, chullpi, and capia). We created a reference database of local varieties to explore the diversity in the morphological and metric characters of starch grains at intra and inter-racial levels. The aim of this paper was to search for referential elements that could allow better and more reliable identifications of maize starches in archaeological samples. We used descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses; we applied a statistical treatment to estimate the probability of correct classification of starch grains. Results showed high variability within each landrace and a large superposition between varieties. None of the landraces showed distinctive characteristics that allowed an exclusive discrimination.

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Processing of wild cereal grains in the Upper Palaeolithic revealed by starch grain analysis.

Dolores R Piperno, Ehud Weiss, Irene Holst … (2004)

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum monococcum L. and Triticum turgidum L.) were among the principal 'founder crops' of southwest Asian agriculture. Two issues that were central to the cultural transition from foraging to food production are poorly understood. They are the dates at which human groups began to routinely exploit wild varieties of wheat and barley, and when foragers first utilized technologies to pound and grind the hard, fibrous seeds of these and other plants to turn them into easily digestible foodstuffs. Here we report the earliest direct evidence for human processing of grass seeds, including barley and possibly wheat, in the form of starch grains recovered from a ground stone artefact from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Ohalo II in Israel. Associated evidence for an oven-like hearth was also found at this site, suggesting that dough made from grain flour was baked. Our data indicate that routine processing of a selected group of wild cereals, combined with effective methods of cooking ground seeds, were practiced at least 12,000 years before their domestication in southwest Asia.

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

Michael Haslam (2004)

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Starch grain evidence for the preceramic dispersals of maize and root crops into tropical dry and humid forests of Panama.

Ruth Dickau, Anthony Ranere, Richard Cooke (2007)

The Central American isthmus was a major dispersal route for plant taxa originally brought under cultivation in the domestication centers of southern Mexico and northern South America. Recently developed methodologies in the archaeological and biological sciences are providing increasing amounts of data regarding the timing and nature of these dispersals and the associated transition to food production in various regions. One of these methodologies, starch grain analysis, recovers identifiable microfossils of economic plants directly off the stone tools used to process them. We report on new starch grain evidence from Panama demonstrating the early spread of three important New World cultigens: maize (Zea mays), manioc (Manihot esculenta), and arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea). Maize starch recovered from stone tools at a site located in the Pacific lowlands of central Panama confirms previous archaeobotanical evidence for the use of maize there by 7800-7000 cal BP. Starch evidence from preceramic sites in the less seasonal, humid premontane forests of Chiriquí province, western Panama, shows that maize and root crops were present by 7400-5600 cal BP, several millennia earlier than previously documented. Several local starchy resources, including Zamia and Dioscorea spp., were also used. The data from both regions suggest that crop dispersals took place via diffusion or exchange of plant germplasm rather than movement of human populations practicing agriculture.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Irene Lantos: Role: ND

Marco A. Giovannetti: Role: ND

Norma Ratto: Role: ND

Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): darwin

Title: Darwiniana, nueva serie

Abbreviated Title: Darwiniana, nueva serie

Publisher: Instituto de Botánica Darwinion & Museo Botánico de Córdoba (San Isidro, Buenos Aires, Argentina )

ISSN (Print): 0011-6793

ISSN (Electronic): 1850-1699

Publication date (Print and electronic): June 2014

Volume: 2

Issue: 1

Pages: 74-95

Affiliations

[02] orgnameUniversidad Nacional de La Plata orgdiv1Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo orgdiv2División Arqueología

[01] Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires orgnameUniversidad de Buenos Aires orgdiv1Facultad de Filosofía y Letras orgdiv2Museo Etnográfco J. B. Ambrosetti Argentina