Direct Evidence for Geophyte Exploitation in the Wyoming Basin

In the Wyoming Basin, archaeological sites dating from the Early Archaic to Late Prehistoric are often found associated with or adjacent to dense populations of Cymopterus bulbosus (springparsley), a nutritious geophyte that would have been an important food source for prehistoric humans living in the region. Experimental data have shown that the caloric return rates of C. bulbosus were enough to support seasonal exploitation by foragers, yet there has been no direct evidence for the use of this geophyte from the archaeological record. In this study, we examine starch granules from 10 ground stone tools excavated from two stratified, multicomponent archaeological sites in the Wyoming Basin to determine if C. bulbosus was collected and consumed in the past. Taproots of C. bulbosus were collected from two populations in the immediate vicinity of the archaeological sites in order to develop a modern starch reference. Identification of Cymopterus starch granules is based on a systematic study of those reference granules. The presence of Cymopterus starch on the ground stone artifacts suggests that prehistoric foragers were collecting and consuming these geophytes. These findings support previous hypotheses about geophyte use in southern Wyoming and therefore have implications for increasing human populations as well as settlement and subsistence decisions

A Multi-Proxy Approach to Archaeobotanical Research: Archaic and Fremont Diets, Utah

New analytical techniques in archaeobotany allow researchers to examine human plant use by developing interrelated, yet independent lines of evidence. Here we outline the results of a two-method archaeobotanical approach to investigate Archaic and Fremont Great Basin diets. We conducted both macro- and microbotanical (starch granule) analyses at nine archaeological sites located in central and southwestern Utah. Our results show that in contexts where macrobotanical remains are poorly preserved, the application of microbotanical methods can produce additional sets of information, thus improving interpretations about past human diets. In this study, macrobotanical remains represented seed-based dietary contributions, while microbotanical remains came primarily from geophytes. Results suggest largely overlapping diets for Archaic and Fremont residents of Utah

Effects of Cultivation on Tuber and Starch Granule Morphometrics of \u3cem\u3eSolanum jamesii\u3c/em\u3e and Implications for Interpretation of the Archaeological Record

Plant species native to the American southwest may have been cultivated by indigenous people, but techniques to assess the extent, timing, and impacts of early manipulation are lacking. Herein we apply morphometric techniques to tubers and starch granules of the Four Corners potato, (Solanum jamesii Torrey) to determine if cultivation, even over a relatively short period of time, can be detected. When compared to wild source plants, cultivated plants produced significantly larger tubers and starch granules. We suggest that, in concert with other archaeological and/or ecological data, microbotanical data may aid in identifying modifications to plant food resources related to strategic shifts from wild harvest to cultivation in the American west