Morphological and Chemical Signatures of Chenopodium: Application of Optical and Electron Microscopy to Seeds from Experimental and Archaeological Contexts

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Humans are considered natural seed dispersing agents through the social acts of seed saving and seed sowing. The intentional and unintentional results of these human-plant relationships can lead to the development of genotypic and phenotypic traits that are beneficial to both the plant and to their human influencers. Anthropogenic seed dispersal of wild Chenopodium plants and domestication are associated in the archaeological record with concomitant morphological changes, including a reduction in testa (seed coat) thickness. In this pilot study, we tested two imaging approaches to quantify Chenopodium seed morphology, namely high-resolution optical scanning and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). First, we conducted a validation experiment on extant modern Chenopodium seeds, both uncarbonized and carbonized. Next, we analyzed carbonized seeds recovered from the archaeological excavations of two rockshelters (15JA120 and 15JA122) located within the Daniel Boone National Forest in eastern Kentucky. Our results show a difference in testa thickness measurements dependent on the microscopy technology applied and on the degree of carbonization. In addition, we discuss the morphological characters contrasted in the modern and archaeological carbonized Chenopodium specimens, including differences in surface structure, margin configuration, and beak prominence, as well as chemical signatures captured through energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35537.0