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Starch granule analysis reveals the functions of stone tools and implications on subsistence economy in Neolithic Yangtze River Basin, China


Affiliations
1 College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, India
2 Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research Ministry of Education, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, India
3 Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330008, India
4 Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research Ministry of Education, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, School of History and Geography, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou 363000, India
 

Stone knife and stone muller are common artefacts belonging to the Neolithic period sites in the Yangtze River Basin, China. The Dawangling archaeological site is an important Neolithic site located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. One stone knife and one stone muller were excavated from the Neolithic layer and examined using starch residue analysis to determine the functions of these tools. More than 165 starch granules and a few bordered pits of tracheid were retrieved from the residues of these stone tools. The results of starch granule analysis show that stone knife and stone muller were probably agricultural processing tools for ancient humans at the Dawangling site during the Neolithic period and hint at the possible existence of a broadspectrum subsistence economy during the Neolithic period.

Keywords

Archaeological sites, starch granule residues, stone tools, subsistence economy, underground storage organs.
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  • Starch granule analysis reveals the functions of stone tools and implications on subsistence economy in Neolithic Yangtze River Basin, China

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Authors

Zhiwei Wan
College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, India
Siping Lin
Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research Ministry of Education, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, India
Min Ju
Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research Ministry of Education, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, India
Fuqiang Liao
Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research Ministry of Education, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, India
Guangming Zhou
Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330008, India
Yulian Jia
Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research Ministry of Education, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, School of History and Geography, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou 363000, India

Abstract


Stone knife and stone muller are common artefacts belonging to the Neolithic period sites in the Yangtze River Basin, China. The Dawangling archaeological site is an important Neolithic site located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. One stone knife and one stone muller were excavated from the Neolithic layer and examined using starch residue analysis to determine the functions of these tools. More than 165 starch granules and a few bordered pits of tracheid were retrieved from the residues of these stone tools. The results of starch granule analysis show that stone knife and stone muller were probably agricultural processing tools for ancient humans at the Dawangling site during the Neolithic period and hint at the possible existence of a broadspectrum subsistence economy during the Neolithic period.

Keywords


Archaeological sites, starch granule residues, stone tools, subsistence economy, underground storage organs.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv120%2Fi9%2F1520-1526