Starch Granule Analysis

Abstract

Starch granule analysis is a paleoethnobotanical technique used to study past human–plant interactions. Starch forms as microscopic granules in a range of plants, particularly those used as foods such as cereals, legumes, and underground storage organs, and can be recovered archaeologically from food‐processing tools, sediments, dental calculus, and coprolites. Variations in the size and shape of starch grains permit their taxonomic identification. As in many starch‐producing plants, diagnostic remains, such as seeds, pollen, or phytoliths, either are not produced or do not preserve well, and starch granule analysis has become an important avenue for studying past human diet, food processing, and early agriculture around the world.