Exploratory Research: The Potential of Chemical Analysis of Organic Residues on Ground Stone Tools in Reconstructing Prehistoric Diet

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9321601 Bar-Yosef Drs. Ofer Bar-Yosef and Katherine Wright, in collaboration with chemists from University College, University of London, will conduct chemical analysis of residues incorporated onto prehistoric pounding and grinding stones. The objects to be studied derive from a series of sites in Jordan and Israel. On this basis they hope to reconstruct the uses to which these objects were put, determine whether individual specimens served to reduce animal or plant products, and hopefully identify the individual plant species. They will employ thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Materials selected for analysis derive from secure well dated archaeological contexts and include both pre- agricultural and early agricultural sites. The domestication of plants and animals occurred in the Near East ca. 10,000 years ago and marks a major transition in human lifestyle. This "Neolithic revolution" provided the basis for population increase, the development of settled village life and the rise of civilization. Archaeologists wish to understand the process which lead to domestication and recognize how difficult it is to accomplish this. Plants only infrequently leave a visible mark in the archaeological record because - in contrast to animal bone - they are often fragile and do not preserve well. It is known by ethnographic analogy that ground stone objects are often used to process plant and animal foods and for this reason Drs. Bar-Yosef and Wright are focussing on such materials. This research is important for several reasons. It will help to develop a technique which may be applied in many archaeological situations. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and increase our understanding of how complex societies such as our own developed. ***