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Abstracts for
the symposium on Theory and Practice of Archaeological Residue Analysis during the 70th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology Salt Lake City (Utah), Thursday 31 March 2005 |
The two sessions of this symposium aim to
provide an overview of the problems and possibilities of
collecting data on organic residues in archaeological materials.
A variety of
techniques will be discussed, as well as the results of the
analysis
of the same, experimental, residue by several laboratories (the
'round robin'
experiment). At the end of each session a short debate between
the speakers and the audience will be mediated by two
discussants.
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The proceedings of our symposium during the 70th Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archaeology (Salt Lake City, 30 March - 3 April 2005) are published in the British Archaeological Reports International Series. The Table of Contents and sample pages can be found here. | |
Symposium
21 Archaeological Residue Analysis; Part I: Theory |
Chair:
Hans Barnard Venue: Room 251 AB, Salt Palace Convention Center Time: 31 March 2005; 8 am. |
8:00-8:15
Hans Barnard: In
order to better understand the organic residues found in 4th-6th
century CE potsherds (Eastern Desert Ware, from the desert between the
Nile
and the Red Sea), twenty-five food stuffs were prepared in new vessels
(tagen). The crushed walls of these vessels were analyzed using various
methods of mass spectrometry and gas chromatography to be compared with
data from archaeological material. Sherds of one vessel (X-11) were
circulated among participants of this symposium (the round robin
experiment), which was initiated as a platform to discuss the problems
and possibilities of
archaeological residue analysis. |
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8:15-8:30
Jim Cassidy:
Global climatic instability 3,700 years ago correlates with the
expansion of northeast Asian core-periphery interaction into the
frontier area of the Russian Far East. These processes led to
the expansion of food production in the form of millet and barley
cultivation. In an attempt to gain a more direct understanding of
subsistence practices and potential food production represented in
deposits dating to this time period a
total of 18 Neolithic and 41 Margarita Culture ceramic sherds were
subjected to fatty acid residue analysis. This analysis revealed
significant data pertaining to subsistence practices, as well as to
possible patterns
of seasonality. |
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8:30-8:45
Marlize Lombard and Lyn Wadley: Fifty-four stone flakes
were produced for a series of four blind tests. Some were hafted and
used for the processing of plant and animal products. Tools for tests
1,3 and 4 were used to assess the identification skills of the analist
who was not provided with any information prior to conducting the
analysis. High scores for recognition of residues and tasks performed
were obtained (between 85 and 100%). Tools for test 2 were used to
study the effects of acidic, organic-rich deposits on plant and animal
residues. Sixty-seven additional tools with residues were produced to
address problems identified during the first three blind test sessions
(tests 1-3). These were used together with those from the blind tests
in preparation for performing the fourth blind test in the series,
which resulted in the highest score. |
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8:45-9:00
Robert Lusteck: While much of this symposium focuses
on chemical residues, I would like to highlight the physical residues.
Food residues, such as encrustations on pottery, provide an excellent
media for the preservation and recovery of micro-botanical remains,
especially opal phytoliths. Phytoliths are extremely durable and do not
degrade in this context. Once the organic matrix is dissolved, the
remaining silica may be analyzed to determine what plants were being
prepared in the pot. Therefore, they make a great source of data that
complements chemical
residue analysis. In this paper, I will discuss my findings from North
American samples. |
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9:00-9:15
Sean
Rafferty: Most residue analysis projects in archaeology
focus on recovering evidence of food remains by identifying
characteristic
protein or lipid compounds. This leaves out many compounds in the
natural
environment, some of which with pharmacological properties. Most common
in this category are alkaloids, which occur naturally in a variety of
plants. This paper reviews the potential of alkaloids to provide
valuable
information on past ways of life, and the current instrumental
approaches
to their recovery. |
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9:15-9:30
Eleanora Reber:
A combination of absorbed residue analysis and typological study is one
of the best ways to interpret archaeological pottery use. Applying
these techniques to 28 sherds from the Lower Mississippi Valley shows a
widely varied diet that continued through time as maize was introduced
to the region. Residues provide a new way of looking at archaeological
typology and human bevavior. |
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--- Presentation
withdrawn ---
Henry
Schwarcz and Shannon Coyston: We analysed sherds from
Preclassic and Classic Mayan sites in El Salvador, Guatemala and
Belize. Lipids
were found to be adsorbed on sherds which had been used for cooking.
Isotopic analysis of charred food residues showed them to be derived
from
stews with fish as a major constituent. Lipids in these sherds also
resembled those of fish. Fatty acid spectra on other sherds were not
sufficiently
diagnostic to define dietary constituents but indicated a heterogeneous
diet including some meat and much plant food. Low concentrations of
lipids
and lack of specificity in food types make unique identifications
difficult.
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9:30-10:00
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Symposium
46 Archaeological Residue Analysis; Part II: Practice |
Chair:
Jelmer Eerkens Venue: Room 251 AB, Salt Palace Convention Center Time: 31 March 2005; 1 pm. |
1:00-1:15
Jelmer Eerkens:
Organic residue analysis is becoming increasingly common in
archaeological studies. This paper evaluates the discriminatory power
of fatty acid analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)
to identify the types of foods that were cooked in ancient pots. A case
study from the western Great Basin of North America is examined. |
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1:15-1:30
Dana Beehr and Stan Ambrose:
Carbon and nitrogen isotopes of carbonized residues were analyzed from
interior surfaces of 88 ceramic vessel from five contemporary early
Mississippian American Bottom sites. Average proportions of maize in
upland Richland Complex sites ranged from 7% at a small rural
farmstead, to 17% to 42%
at three larger sites. Sherds from the Cahokia sub-Mound 51 feasting
pit
averaged 36% maize, even though macrobotanical remains of maize were
very
rare. Nitrogen isotope ratios of eight sherds from Cahokia show
meat
was cooked in one vessel. Potsherd residue isotopic analysis provides a
powerful tool for reconstructing dietary practices in Eastern North
America. |
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1:30-1:45
Marcus Forster, Carl
Heron, Ben Stern, Oliver Craig and Søren Andersen:
In order to investigate issues of dietary change and the
exploitation of marine resources during the Mesolithic/Neolithic
transition (around 4,000 BCE), a number of potsherds from six sites in
Denmark have been analysed for the presence of organic residues.
Samples have been selected from
Tybrind Vig, Bjornsholm, Norsminde, Ringkloster, Ertebolle and Store
Amose.
These have been subjected to gas chromatography, gas
chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography-isotope
ratio-mass spectrometry (GC-IR-MS) to understand the
origin of the lipid extracts. The presence of specific biomarkers
combined with carbon and nitrogen isotope
ratios provides a valuable means of identification. The significance of
these results will be outlined. |
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1:45-2:00
Michael Gregg: For this study, 150 ceramic fragments
from twelve early villages in southwest Asia were examined utilizing
gas-chromatography and mass-spectrometry. Five fragments exhibited
abundances,
elution orders and molecular weights characteristic of bitumen, whereas
only two sherds exhibited biomolecular signatures of animal fats or
vegetable
oils. Due to poor preservation of n-hexadecanoic acid (C16:0) and
n-octadecanoic acid (C18:0) specific functions were unable to be
securely attributed to this assemblage of ceramic fragments. Future
biomolecular reconstructions from this formative period must identify
the soil properties and climatic conditions that facilitate the
preservation of fatty acids and pinpoint locations
with the greatest likelihood for survival of organic residues. |
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2:00-2:15
Hanneke Hoekman-Sites: Chemical analysis of residues
from sherds discovered at Pella of the Decapolis (Jordan) was
conducted to examine how the role of the site changed over time.
Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to
analyze compounds extracted from 43 Late Byzantine and Medieval
sherds. Instead of identifying all possible residues, this study
utilized biomarkers to identify specific plant species. Results
uphold the view of
Pella as a trade center during Byzantine times and suggest trade
connections with China and Europe. In the Medieval Period, Pella seemed
to have lost its position as a trade center as only local goods
were found on Medieval sherds. |
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--- Presentation
withdrawn ---
Rheta Lanehart, Robert Tykot, Anne Underhill, Fengshi Luan and
Hui Fang: Pottery sherds at Liangchengzhen, China (Longshan
Period, 2600-1900 BCE) were examined for organic residues. Guan jar,
pen basin, and ding tripod sherds were sampled at the rim, body and
base.
Lipids were separated using a chloroform-methanol mix and sonic
extraction
with additional filtration before nitrogen evaporation. Analysis of the
trimethylester (TMS) and fatty acid methyl ester (FAMES)
components
of the total lipid extract by gas chromatography, gas
chromatography/mass
spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography-isotope ratio-mass
spectrometry
(GC-IR-MS) support the stable isotope values for Liangchengzhen human
and faunal dietary patterns. |
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2:15-2:30 Break. |
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2:30-2:45
Mary Malainey: Archaeological food residues extracted from
areas of fat accumulation in artifacts can be characterized on the
basis of relative fatty acid composition. Compositions of ancient
residues are compared to experimental residues subjected to periods of
oven storage, which simulates the effects of oxidative decomposition
over time. Levels of medium and very long chain saturated fatty acids,
octadecanoic acid
(C18:0) and octadecenoic acid (C18:1) isomers indicate the fat content
of the material of origin and probable presence of animal or plant
material.
This techniques performs well in blind tests of decomposed residues of
previously unknown foods and identification criteria remain valid over time. |
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2:45-3:00
Micala Rider, Paul Fish, William Longacre, Matthew
Young and Mark Malcomson: Due to the highly variable
state of the preservation of the organic materials that
archaeologists deal with, conclusions drawn on the basis of the
primary data
from residue analysis are usually ambiguous. Sherds from a Hohokam site
in Marana (Arizona) are analyzed by gas chromatography/mass
spectrometry (GC/MS) at different stages of their excavation and
accession
to determine to what extent these processes affect the degradation of
the fatty acid residues preserved in the sherd. Preliminary results
indicate
that fatty acids, particularly the unsaturated acids, do
not degrade at the same rates which is of great importance to the
analysis
and its interpretation. |
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--- Presentation
withdrawn ---
Robert Parr and Robert Yohe:
Visible residues are frequently found in prehistoric ceramic cooking
vessels or interior pottery sherds, many seemingly thermally altered.
Such
residues are apt candidates for residue studies of various types,
including
analyses focusing on lipids, waxes, carbohydrates, and proteins. Given
the low percentage of positive results for identifiable proteins using
counter-immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) on ceramic residues, an experiment
was designed to test the viability of immunoproteins following exposure
to temperatures at and above 100°C. This paper reports on the
results of this study, which suggest that the detection of any protein
that has been exposed to high temperatures using CIEP will be severely
compromised. |
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3:00-3:30
Questions and discussion mediated by Jelmer Eerkens, Ran
Boytner and Hans Barnard.
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Your suggestions, additions, comments
and corrections are welcome and your participation even more so.
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Mobile People |
Ancient
Apprenticeship |
Eastern
Desert Ware |
Cotsen Institute |