Absorbed Residue Analysis of a Mississippi Plain Jar from Angel Mounds (12Vg1)

Abstract

For the first time in North American archaeology, absorbed residue analysis was conducted on multiple samples from the same vessel, a complete Mississippi Plain jar from Angel Mounds (12Vg1). This approach provided comprehensive, residue-based interpretations of the form and function of a single pot. The Mississippi Plain jar was recovered from a burnt house floor along with the broken remains of a similar vessel and burnt maize. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of absorbed lipid residues were performed on four different parts of this vessel to determine its contents and function. Comparison of absorbed residues from the pot and soil lipids was used to determine whether the pot was buried with contents intact. The results indicate that this vessel was used to cook a mixture of riverine (lean fish or shellfish) and plant resources, probably including maize. Diterpenoid biomarkers were also present, suggesting that conifer resin was used either to seal the pot or as a flavoring. The jar, though deposited whole, was probably not buried with contents intact.

Lipid Analysis of Pottery from the Early Bronze Age II Burials at Ayia Triada Cave, Southern Euboea, Greece: Evidence for Ritualized Consumption?

“…This suggests that it was not the sole product in the vessels (Reber et al . 2015, 44). Pinaceae spp.…”

“…wood, either during the pottery's firing or the burning that occurred in the cave (Reber and Hart 2008; Reber et al . 2015, 44; Reber et al . 2019; Rice 1987, 163).…”

Lipid Residue Analysis of Archaeological Pottery: An Introductory Laboratory Experiment in Archaeological Chemistry

“…In arid conditions, lipids have been recovered from excavated pottery dating to the eighth millennium BC . Lipid residue analysis can assist archaeologists in reconstructing regional subsistence patterns, technologies, and economic and cultural practices. − Triglycerides and fatty acids, which arise from the processing of plants and animals in ceramic vessels, are the most prolific lipids found in the archaeological record . Since each plant and animal species synthesizes triglycerides using a unique combination of fatty acids (Table ), the relative percent fatty acid abundances can be used to identify extracted lipid residues.…”