ALCANCES Y LIMITACIONES PARA LA IDENTIFICACIÓN ARQUEOLÓGICA DE GRÁNULOS DE ALMIDÓN DE RAZAS NATIVAS DE ZEA MAYS (POACEAE) DEL NOROESTE ARGENTINO

In this paper we characterized and analyzed microscopically starch grains of eight Zea mays modern landraces from Northwestern Argentina (pisingallo, cristalino colorado, perlita, calchaqui, 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.