The Four Corners Potato: A Starch Granule Analysis of Ground Stone Artifacts from 5MT3873, Cortez, Colorado

Summary

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

New research suggests the utilization of a wild potato (Solanum jamesii) may have been an important resource in the arid West in general and particularly among Ancient Puebloan communities. This research tests for the role of S. jamesii in Ancient Puebloan societies by expanding upon the research goals and archaeological investigations of the Ladle House site (5MT3873), a multi-component Basketmaker III, Pueblo I-II site in Cortez, Colorado, specifically focusing on the wealth of food

processing activities which occurred in the Pueblo II kiva/pithouse structure. The tests outlined here employ starch granule analysis of groundstone artifacts to yield data regarding the plant processing and grinding activities at the site, specifically to test for the presence of the S. jamesii potato as a food source for the Pueblo II occupants of Ladle House. The synthesis of these investigations lends to a more complete understanding of the plant foods utilized. The starch grain analysis combined with new pollen analysis of seven groundstone tools identified one possible, but not definitive, starch grain from the S. jamesii potato as well as provided a more complete picture of the overall plant utilization found at the Ladle House.

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): 37059.0