Metabolomics in the Study of Ground Stone Tools

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeological ground stone tools used for food processing have proven to be rich sources of residues, in particular microbotanicals such as pollen, phytoliths, and starch grains. This data adds to the studies of tool function, foodways, and other lines of archaeological inquiry. To date, ground stone has not been the target of chemical residue analysis, specifically metabolomic analysis via liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in the pursuit of ancient food residues. For this study, ground stone artifacts from ancient Maya sites in Belize and Guatemala were evaluated to determine whether this type of organic residue analysis is successful in recovering chemical signatures. UHPLC-HRMS was utilized and a variety of metabolites of interest were identified. Compounds recovered included carbohydrates, alkaloids, fatty acids, and other metabolites with the potential to inform on a variety of food resources. These results demonstrate the utility of ground stone artifacts as potential resources for recovery of metabolites important to the study of ancient foodways.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33184