Effects of acetolysis on starch granules

Abstract

The ability to concurrently analyze multiple microfossils from the same palaeoecological or archaeological sample would allow for faster and multi-evidenced analyses. Most microfossils require chemical processing to become identifiable under different types of microscopy; acetolysis is commonly employed in palynological study. We present the effects of acetolysis on starch-rich elements of four economic taxa. Acetolysis caused slight shrinkage in the average size of starch granules, at statistically significant levels for three of the four taxa explored. The capacity to conduct starch analysis from acetolyzed samples is discussed for archaeological and palaeoecological study.