Direct morpho-chemical characterization of elusive plant residues from Aurignacian Pontic Steppe ground stones
Journal: bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Year: 2020

Abstract Direct evidence for the intentional processing of starch-rich plants during the Paleolithic is scant, and that evidence is often compromised by concerns over preservation and contamination. Our integrated, multimodal approach couples wear-trace analysis with chemical imaging methods to identify the presence of genuine ancient starch candidates (ASC) on ground stones used in the Pontic Steppe starting around 40,000 years ago. Optical and electron microscopy coupled with infrared spectrom