Identification of Neolithic diet by the morphology of the starch grains of dental calculus found in the Dehesilla Cave (Cadiz – South of the Iberian Peninsula)

The starch grains present in the dental calculus of four Neolithic individuals of the Dehesilla Cave (Cadiz, South of Spain) were extracted and observed with light microscopy. The variant of the extraction technique used proved to be very effective. A number of Poaceae-Triticeae taxa [wheat (Triticu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Pereira Coutinho, António, Moreira, Margarida, Silva, Eduardo, García Rivero, Daniel, Umbelino, Cláudia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/158261
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/158261
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-01972-z
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Starch identification
Crops
Dental calculus
Neolithic
Spain
Descripción
Sumario:The starch grains present in the dental calculus of four Neolithic individuals of the Dehesilla Cave (Cadiz, South of Spain) were extracted and observed with light microscopy. The variant of the extraction technique used proved to be very effective. A number of Poaceae-Triticeae taxa [wheat (Triticum sp., the main crop, including Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum sp.)], Fabaceae-Fabeae-Cicereae and Fagaceae (oaks = Quercus sp., which constitute new data for the area in question) were identified. Some pollen grains and fungal spores were also identified, which helped to provide information on the ecological framework of the crops associated with the archaeological site.