Abstract

PETRUCCI, Natalia  and  LEMA, Verónica S. Primeras aproximaciones a la identificación de técnicas de procesamiento en carporrestos de Zea mays L.: detección de granos hervidos en restos arqueobotánicos secos y carbonizados. Intersecciones antropol. [online]. 2016, vol.17, n.3, pp.291-302. ISSN 1850-373X.

Archaeological remains of corn (Zea mays L.) have been found in several archaeological contexts, as both macro and microremains, thought much of the pre-Hispanic history of Argentine Northwest. Different experimental and archaeobotanical studies have been conducted with the aim of detecting processing in archaeological remains. Despite this, there are no studies addressing the changes that processing and charring cause in the kernel anatomy at tissue, cellular and subcellular levels. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the identification of one processing technique, boiling of whole kernels, through experimental studies and the analysis of qualitative and quantitative anatomical and morphological traits which can be applied to dry and charred archaeological remains. As a result, several characters linked to boiling of whole kernels and their applications to an archaeological case are presented. Finally we discuss the scope of these analyses as the first approximation to an analytical pathway which seems to be promising for the detection of past culinary practices.

Keywords : Corn kernels; Experimentation; Processing.

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