New criteria for the molecular identification of cereal grains associated with archaeological artefacts

TY - JOUR

T1 - New criteria for the molecular identification of cereal grains associated with archaeological artefacts

AU - Colonese, Andre Carlo

AU - Hendy, Jessica

AU - Lucquin, Alexandre

AU - Speller, Camilla F

AU - Collins, Matthew J

AU - Carrer, Francesco

AU - Gubler, Regula

AU - Kühn, Marlu

AU - Fischer, Roman

AU - Craig, Oliver E

N1 - © The Author(s) 2017.

PY - 2017/7/26

Y1 - 2017/7/26

N2 - The domestication and transmission of cereals is one of the most fundamental components of early farming, but direct evidence of their use in early culinary practices and economies has remained frustratingly elusive. Using analysis of a well-preserved Early Bronze Age wooden container from Switzerland, we propose novel criteria for the identification of cereal residues. Using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we identified compounds typically associated with plant products, including a series of phenolic lipids (alkylresorcinols) found only at appreciable concentration in wheat and rye bran. The value of these lipids as cereal grain biomarkers were independently corroborated by the presence of macrobotanical remains embedded in the deposit, and wheat and rye endosperm peptides extracted from residue. These findings demonstrate the utility of a lipid-based biomarker for wheat and rye bran and offer a methodological template for future investigations of wider range of archaeological contexts. Alkylresorcinols provide a new tool for residue analysis which can help explore the spread and exploitation of cereal grains, a fundamental component of the advent and spread of farming.

AB - The domestication and transmission of cereals is one of the most fundamental components of early farming, but direct evidence of their use in early culinary practices and economies has remained frustratingly elusive. Using analysis of a well-preserved Early Bronze Age wooden container from Switzerland, we propose novel criteria for the identification of cereal residues. Using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we identified compounds typically associated with plant products, including a series of phenolic lipids (alkylresorcinols) found only at appreciable concentration in wheat and rye bran. The value of these lipids as cereal grain biomarkers were independently corroborated by the presence of macrobotanical remains embedded in the deposit, and wheat and rye endosperm peptides extracted from residue. These findings demonstrate the utility of a lipid-based biomarker for wheat and rye bran and offer a methodological template for future investigations of wider range of archaeological contexts. Alkylresorcinols provide a new tool for residue analysis which can help explore the spread and exploitation of cereal grains, a fundamental component of the advent and spread of farming.

KW - Journal Article

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026387194&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-06390-x

DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-06390-x

M3 - Article

C2 - 28747692

SN - 2045-2322

VL - 7

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

IS - 1

M1 - 6633

ER -