Starch analyses reveal the relationship between tool type and function: an example from the Orinoco valley of Venezuela

Abstract

Archaeologists working in the lowlands of South America have often interpreted specific groups of artifacts as reliable indicators of either maize or bitter manioc use. These interpretations are based upon the resemblance of archaeological artifact assemblages to modern plant processing tools. A collection of archaeological lithic tools including mano fragments, microlithic teeth, and other groundstone and flake artifacts from the site of Los Mangos del Parguaza in the middle Orinoco valley of Venezuela was chosen for examination. A series of studies incorporated starch residue analyses in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the relationship between tool type and function. Methods were devised to both maximize the recovery of starches from different lithic materials and construct permanent collections of the archaeological residues. To augment the archaeobotanical assemblage, starch data were combined with macrobotanical data. The starch analyses indicate that there is no definitive tool type associated with either maize or bitter manioc use.