Dissertation Improvement Grant: Starch Grain Analysis Provides Insight Into Plant Resource Exploitation in the Middle Atlantic Region of North America

在迈克尔·斯图尔特博士的监督下，蒂莫西·梅斯纳将建立一个淀粉谷物参考库，并使用淀粉谷物分析来研究居住在美国东部中大西洋地区的古代美洲原住民使用经济重要植物物种的历史。由于考古沉积物中的有机遗骸保存普遍较差，该区域很少见到大型植物遗骸。淀粉粒分析是一种已被证明为植物资源开发利用的直接证据的技术，尽管大型植物遗骸的有机保存很差。一项利用特拉华河流域单一遗址的文物进行的初步研究表明，可以从考古沉积物中常见的石器中提取淀粉颗粒。来自特拉华河谷重要遗址的文物，位于不同的环境环境中，跨越了2000多年的占领，是当前项目的重点。在这一地区，有限的证据表明，到公元前1200年，土著人民对植物资源的依赖有所增加，这可能为最终采用热带驯化的玉米、豆类和南瓜以及公元900年至公元1300年之间的农耕生活方式奠定了基础。了解用于生存的各种植物，何时使用，以及使用多长时间，对于了解数千年来美洲原住民生活的变化性质具有重要意义。我们没有宏观植物学证据的哪些植物正在被开发？热带家养动物是什么时候被引入该地区的，这种引入遵循了什么样的地理模式？在该地区出现玉米(Zea Mays)之前，是否有未知的栽培品种和/或驯化物质在使用？为什么种植和/或驯化作物在该区域的一些地区被采用，而在另一些地区却没有？向粮食生产的过渡受到了全国和世界各地许多跨学科研究人员的极大关注，导致了对解释人类生存方式这一关键变化的一系列不同的解释。在特拉华河流域、大西洋中部和周边地区，向粮食生产的过渡仍然是个谜。这个项目的重要性来自于它能够更清楚地展示哪些植物和驯化植物被利用以及何时被利用，以及这种洞察力在多大程度上证实或改变了现有的模型和解释。这项研究的更广泛的影响是作为一个结合使用传统数据和分析形式与淀粉粒分析的区域研究的模式，侧重于人与植物的关系。建立一个淀粉谷物参考库，再加上这项研究的结果，将使来自美国东部林地的研究人员不仅能够调查驯化植物物种在大西洋坡上的传播和采用，而且还可以回答许多关于人与植物在许多不同层面上相互作用的问题。

Under the supervision of Dr. Michael Stewart, Timothy Messner will construct a starch grain reference collection and employ starch grain analysis to examine the history of use of economically important plant species by ancient Native Americans who lived in the Middle Atlantic Region of the eastern United States. Macro-botanical remains are infrequently encountered in the region owing to the generally poor preservation of organic remains in archaeological deposits. Starch grain analysis is a technique that has been shown to provide direct evidence of plant resource exploitation in spite of poor organic preservation of macro-botanical remains. A pilot study using artifacts from a single site in the Delaware River Basin has demonstrated that starch grains can be recovered from stone tools commonly found in archaeological deposits. Artifacts from significant Delaware Valley sites, situated in diverse environmental settings and spanning over 2000 years of occupation are the focus of the current project. In this area, limited evidence suggests that an increased reliance by native peoples upon plant resources occurred by 1200 BC, presumably setting the stage for the eventual adoption of the tropical domesticates maize, beans, and squash and a farming way of life sometime between 900 AD and 1300 AD. Knowing the full range of plants utilized for subsistence, when, and for how long they were utilized is significant for understanding the changing nature of Native American life over the millennia. What plants were being exploited for which we have no macro-botanical evidence? When were tropical domesticates introduced into the region and what sort of geographic pattern did this introduction follow? Were there unknown cultigens and/or domesticates in use prior to the appearance of maize (Zea mays) in the area? Why are cultigens and/or domesticates adopted in some parts of the region and not in others?The transition to food production has received much attention from an array of interdisciplinary researchers throughout the country and the world, resulting in a diverse series of interpretations for explaining this critical change in human subsistence practices. The transition to food production remains enigmatic in the Delaware River Basin, Middle Atlantic and surrounding regions. The importance of this project stems from its ability to present a clearer picture of which plants and domesticates were utilized and when, and the degree to which such insights confirm or alter existing models and interpretations.The broader impact of this research is as a model for regional research focused on human-plant relationships employing a combination of traditional data and forms of analysis with starch grain analysis. The construction of a starch grain reference collection coupled with the results of this study will enable researchers from throughout the Eastern Woodlands of the United States to investigate not only the dispersal and adoption of domesticated plant species onto the Atlantic Slope, but also to answer a multitude of questions concerning people and plant interaction on many different levels.