Archaeological starch research at 25: Pitfalls, progress and potential

Starch-rich foods have long been an essential component of human diets, leading to major evolutionary and societal advances in our species. A comprehensive understanding of ancient diets can be difficult, however, due to a lack of direct physical evidence. We believe the microanalysis of plant starch granules preserved in various cultural contexts, ranging from ancient tools to fossil human teeth, can provide that evidence. This technique has already shed light on the importance of plants in ancient human diets; however, the interpretation of these data often lacks rigorous, standardized protocols.

There is strong interest in, and timely need for, professional cohesion, guidelines of best practice, and a strategy that elevates the importance of starch research in archaeology. Therefore, we are convening a meeting and workshop to address these limitations.

This event will have three goals: First, we will bring together academic researchers from around the world to present their work, focused on improvements to the methods of starch analysis. Secondly, we will publish conference proceedings and a comprehensive manual on the best practices of archaeological starch research. And finally, the steering committee and attendees will develop organizational documents to form a scientific professional society that promotes and strengthens starch research.