Seeing red: the use of Congo Red dye to identify cooked and damaged starch grains in archaeological residues

Lamb, Jenna; Loy, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2005.03.020

Cited by 71 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Cooking damage was identified on the basis of a series of experiments we performed (38), as well as on the basis of literature documenting the patterns and types of damage these procedures leave on the microfossils (68)(69)(70)(71). The damage to starch grains caused by heating in the presence of water, such as would occur with methods like baking and boiling, is particularly distinctive and has been observed in other archaeological records (35,38,40,41).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microfossils in calculus demonstrate consumption of plants and cooked foods in Neanderthal diets (Shanidar III, Iraq; Spy I and II, Belgium)

Henry

Brooks

Piperno

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

441

263

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The nature and causes of the disappearance of Neanderthals and their apparent replacement by modern humans are subjects of considerable debate. Many researchers have proposed biologically or technologically mediated dietary differences between the two groups as one of the fundamental causes of Neanderthal disappearance. Some scenarios have focused on the apparent lack of plant foods in Neanderthal diets. Here we report direct evidence for Neanderthal consumption of a variety of plant foods, in the form of phytoliths and starch grains recovered from dental calculus of Neanderthal skeletons from Shanidar Cave, Iraq, and Spy Cave, Belgium. Some of the plants are typical of recent modern human diets, including date palms ( Phoenix spp.), legumes, and grass seeds (Triticeae), whereas others are known to be edible but are not heavily used today. Many of the grass seed starches showed damage that is a distinctive marker of cooking. Our results indicate that in both warm eastern Mediterranean and cold northwestern European climates, and across their latitudinal range, Neanderthals made use of the diverse plant foods available in their local environment and transformed them into more easily digestible foodstuffs in part through cooking them, suggesting an overall sophistication in Neanderthal dietary regimes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microfossils in calculus demonstrate consumption of plants and cooked foods in Neanderthal diets (Shanidar III, Iraq; Spy I and II, Belgium)

Henry

Brooks

Piperno

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

441

263

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show abstract

“…The quasi-crystalline structure produces birefringence, which in crosspolarized light, projects an extinction cross in most undamaged granules that can be distinctive to species (Torrence, 2006b). While iodine stain is often used to identify starch, cooking damage makes the extinction crosses and other identifiable markers less distinct; altered granules, which do not take iodine stain, may be more susceptible to Congo Red dye (Lamb and Loy, 2005).…”

Section: Starch Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne starch dispersal from stone grinding: Experimental results and implications

Dozier

2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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“…Mechanical damage can result in four different types of modification; 1) radial cracking associated with the hilum, 2) chipping and splitting along the margins of the granule, 3) abrasions and 4) a partial loss of granule structure resulting in a "ghost" granule (Williams 1968). Starch grains that have been damaged by milling or gelatinization will absorb any of the cholozal series of dyes, the most commonly used ones being Congo Red and Trypan Blue (Evers 1979;Flint 1994;Lamb 2005). Due to greater water absorption, damaged starch grains take up these dyes while native starches will appear unstained (Banks and Greenwood 1975).…”

Section: Reference Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing diet and seasonality in the Lower Pecos canyonlands: an evaluation of coprolite specimens as records of individual dietary decisions

Riley

2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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were not readily available and may be considered a dependable but undesirable meal.The second menu consists of pit-baked lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) and sotol (Dasylirion sp.) caudices, or hearts, common throughout the cool season. This menu entails high processing costs, but would provide a reliable caloric return. The third menu exhibits a monolithic reliance on prickly pear fruits, or tunas, during the summer.The ease of harvest and consumption is reflected in the seasonal dominance of this resource, which was assuredly a highly desirable meal. The dietary patterns recorded in the coprolite specimens from the Lower Pecos canyonlands demonstrate a seasonally variable diet-breadth that incorporated low-ranked resources during times of seasonal scarcity as well as a monolithic dependence on high-ranked resources when they were available in the local landscape.

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Seeing red: the use of Congo Red dye to identify cooked and damaged starch grains in archaeological residues

Cited by 71 publications

References 21 publications

Microfossils in calculus demonstrate consumption of plants and cooked foods in Neanderthal diets (Shanidar III, Iraq; Spy I and II, Belgium)

Microfossils in calculus demonstrate consumption of plants and cooked foods in Neanderthal diets (Shanidar III, Iraq; Spy I and II, Belgium)

Airborne starch dispersal from stone grinding: Experimental results and implications

Assessing diet and seasonality in the Lower Pecos canyonlands: an evaluation of coprolite specimens as records of individual dietary decisions

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