Documenting contamination in ancient starch laboratories
Documenting contamination in ancient starch laboratories
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.023
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发表时间：
2014-09-01
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Mercader, Julio
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Crowther, Alison;Haslam, Michael;Mercader, Julio
古代淀粉分析是研究古代生态、植物用途、饮食和工具功能的重要方法；特别是在其他替代品可能无法生存的远古时代。因此，确定古代淀粉的真实性是研究人员主要关注的问题。尽管考古应用已有几十年，但目前还没有经过经验检验的程序来系统地评估和减少实验室内的污染。在牛津大学和卡尔加里大学，我们测试了实验室消耗品、空气污染物和去污技术(氧化、煮沸、高压灭菌、焚烧)，以确定污染源、类型和数量，以及最有效的销毁方法。在我们的实验室中，我们发现(I)污染物淀粉的种类有限，(Ii)许多常用的消耗品，包括非粉状手套和卡尔贡，都富含淀粉，(Iii)经常用于检测空气中污染物的被动滑阀会产生不可靠的替代指标和令人无法接受的低统计置信度，以及(Iv)使用弱酸和漂白剂的去污程序基本上无效。这项合作研究使我们能够识别和减少污染的风险，并为未来在我们实验室进行的古代淀粉研究制定更好的内部真实性标准。(C)2014爱思唯尔有限公司。保留所有权利。
Ancient starch analysis is an important methodology for researching ancient ecology, plant use, diet, and tool function; particularly in the deep past when other proxies may not survive. Establishing the authenticity of ancient starch is therefore a major concern for researchers. Despite decades of archaeological application, there are currently no empirically-tested procedures for systematically assessing and reducing intra-laboratory contamination. At the Universities of Oxford and Calgary, we have tested laboratory consumables, airborne contaminants, and decontamination techniques (oxidisation, boiling, autoclaving, torching) to establish contamination sources, types and quantities, as well as the most effective methods of destroying them. In our laboratories, we found that (i) contaminant starches represent a restricted range of types, (ii) many commonly used consumables including non-powdered gloves and Calgon are starch-rich, (iii) passive slide traps often used to test for airborne contaminants generate unreliable proxies and unacceptably low statistical confidence, and (iv) decontamination procedures using weak acids and bleach are largely ineffective. This collaborative study has allowed us to identify and reduce the risk of contamination and to develop better internal authenticity criteria for future ancient starch studies conducted in our laboratories. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.