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Birarda G, Badetti E, Cagnato C, Sorrentino G, Pantyukhina I, Stani C, Dal Zilio S, Khlopachev G, Covalenco S, Obada T, Skakun N, Sinitsyn A, Terekhina V, Marcomini A, Lubritto C, Cefarin N, Vaccari L, Longo L. Morpho-chemical characterization of individual ancient starches retrieved on ground stone tools from Palaeolithic sites in the Pontic steppe. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21713. [PMID: 38065952 PMCID: PMC10709628 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46970-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the extensive literature on the retrieval of digestible starches from archaeological contexts, there are still significant concerns regarding their genuine origin and durability. Here, we propose a multi-analytical strategy to identify the authenticity of ancient starches retrieved from macrolithic tools excavated at Upper Paleolithic sites in the Pontic steppe. This strategy integrates the morphological discrimination of starches through optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with single starch chemo-profiling using Fourier transform infrared imaging and microscopy. We obtained evidence of aging and biomineralization in the use-related starches from Palaeolithic sites, providing a methodology to establish their ancient origin, assess their preservation status, and attempt their identification. The pivotal application of this multidisciplinar approach demonstrates that the macrolithic tools, from which starches were dislodged, were used for food-processing across the Pontic Steppe around 40,000 years ago during the earliest colonization of Eurasia by Homo sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Birarda
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, S.S. 14 - km 163,5 in Area Science Park, 34149, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy.
| | - E Badetti
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Mestre, VE, Italy
| | - C Cagnato
- UMR 8096 Archéologie des Amériques, CNRS, Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France
- UMR7268 Anthropologie Bio-Culturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé (ADES), Marseille, France
| | - G Sorrentino
- Department of Physics, University of Turin, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125, Turin, Italy
| | - I Pantyukhina
- Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology, Far-Eastern Branch, IHAE-FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia
| | - C Stani
- CERIC-ERIC, S.S. 14 - km 163,5 in Area Science Park, 34149, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - S Dal Zilio
- CNR IOM, S.S. 14 - km 163,5 in Area Science Park, 34149, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - G Khlopachev
- Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - S Covalenco
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Chişinău, Moldova
| | - T Obada
- Institute of Zoology, National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History of Moldova, Chişinău, Moldova
| | - N Skakun
- Institute for the History of Material Culture, IHC-RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - A Sinitsyn
- Institute for the History of Material Culture, IHC-RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - V Terekhina
- Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Institute for the History of Material Culture, IHC-RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - A Marcomini
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Mestre, VE, Italy
| | - C Lubritto
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Caserta "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - N Cefarin
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, S.S. 14 - km 163,5 in Area Science Park, 34149, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - L Vaccari
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, S.S. 14 - km 163,5 in Area Science Park, 34149, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - L Longo
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Mestre, VE, Italy.
- ADM School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
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