Abstract
Fossilized caryopses (or grains) of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) are important archaeobotanical materials for the study of early human agricultural activities. The morphology and ultrastructural characteristics of carbonized modern millets caryopses treated in a drying oven and burning in a field were investigated at different temperatures to study how fossilized millets are formed. The caryopses shrank gradually at temperatures below 200°C, and starch granules in the endosperm retained their crystalline structure. At 250°C the foxtail millet caryopses expanded, whereas the broomcorn millet caryopses were greatly deformed. At this temperature, the structure of the starch granules of both millets became amorphous. At 300°C the caryopses partially turned to ash and became porous, and the ultrastructure of the starch granules was transformed into alveolate cavities. Fossil caryopses from the prehistoric storage cellar at the Beiniu Site retained their crystalline structure and were formed by the dehydrating effect of carbonization, indicating that water molecules were not involved in the starch crystallization. The results of a field burning experiment demonstrated that the ultrastructure of carbonized caryopses placed on the ground under the fire was amorphous. The amorphous ultrastructure of the carbonized caryopses recovered from the archaeological layers is consistent with the expected structure of caryopses that have been carbonized at 250°C. Therefore, we suggest that the recovered caryopses were formed at about 250°C by baking rather than by burning in an open fire.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Renfrew C, Bahn P. Archaeobotany: Theories, Methods and Practice (in Chinese). Bei**g: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 2004. 240–248
Li X Q, Zhou X Y, Zhang H B, et al. The record of cultivated rice from archaeobiological evidence in northwestern China 5000 years ago. Chinese Sci Bull, 2007, 52: 1372–1378
Zhao Z J. Disciplinary position and research content of paleoethnobotany (in Chinese). Archaeology, 2001, 7: 55–61
Liu C J, ** G Y, Kong Z C. Archaeobotany-Research on Seeds and Fruits (in Chinese). Bei**g: Science Press, 2008. 11–14, 44–51, 160–171
Zhao Z J. The plant archaeology study on the origin of agriculture and civilization (in Chinese). Manag Rev Soc Sci, 2005, 2: 82–91
Zhao Z J. Archaeobotany and its recent advances (in Chinese). Archaeol, 2005, 7: 42–49
Liu C J, Li Y C. Identification of the objects floatation-selected from the soil samples collected to the Liao Tomb in Xuanhua (in Chinese). In: Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Archaeological Research Institute, ed. The Liao Tomb in Xuanhua, Vol 1. Bei**g: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 2001. 347–351
Jiang H E, Li X, Zhao Y X, et al. A new insight into Cannabis sativa (Cannabaceae) utilization from 2500-year-old Yanghai Tombs, **njiang, China. J Ethnophar, 2006, 108: 414–422
Jiang H E, Li X, Liu C J, et al. Fruits of Lithospermum officinale L.(Boraginaceae) used as an early plant decoration (2500 a BP) in **njiang, China. J Archaeol Sci, 2007, 2: 167–170
Lü H Y, Zhang J P, Liu K-B, et al. Earliest domestication of common millet (Panicum miliaceum) in East Asia extended to 10000 years ago. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2009, 18: 7367–7372
An Z M. Prehistoric agriculture in China (in Chinese). Act Archaeol Sin, 1988, 4: 369–381
Kong Z C, Liu C J, He D L. Discovery of plant remains at the Zhuangxili site, Tengzhou city, Shandong Province and their significance in environmental archaeology (in Chinese). Archaeology, 1999, 7: 59–62
Kong Z C, Liu C J, Zhang J Z. Discovery of plant remains in the Neolithic site at the Bancun site, Mianchi county, Henan Province and their significance in human environment (in Chinese). Acta Anthropol Sin, 1999, 4: 291–295
Crawford C, Zhao Z J, Luan F S, et al. A preliminary analysis of the Longshan culture plant remains from the Liangchengzhen Site in Rizhao city, Shandong (in Chinese). Archaeol, 2004, 9: 73–80
Li X Q, Zhou X Y, Zhou J, et al. The earliest archaeobiological evidence of the broadening agriculture in China recorded at ** site in Gansu Province. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 2007, 11: 1707–1714
Liu C J, Kong Z C. Morphological comparison of foxtail millet and broomcorn millet and its significance in archaeological identification (in Chinese). Archaeology, 2004, 8: 76–83
Zhao Z J, He N. Identification and analysis of the objects floatation-selected from the soil samples collected to the Taosi Site in **angfen (in Chinese). Archaeology, 2006, 5: 77–86
Yang X Y, Liu C J, Zhang J P, et al. Plant crop remains from the outer burial pit of the Han Yangling Mausoleum and their significance to Early Western Han agriculture. Chinese Sci Bull, 2009, 54: 1738–1743
Matsutani A. Identification of Italian Millet from Esashika Site by means of scanning electron microscope. J Anthrop Soc Nippon, 1986, 94: 111–118
Ji D X. Research history and methods of archaeobotany (in Chinese). Agr Archaeol, 2008, 4: 17–28
Liu H H, Zhou H Y, Zhang W X. Preliminary observation on fine structure of starch grains in rice endosperm (in Chinese). J Chin Electron Microsc Soc, 2001, 20: 185–188
Yang X Y, Lu H Y, **a Z K. Analysis of starch granules in plants and its application in archaeology (in Chinese). Archaeol Cultural Relics, 2006, 87-91
Chai Y. Broomcorn Millet (in Chinese). Bei**g: Chinese Agriculture Press, 1999. 44–45
Li H Y. Morphology and anatomy of Gramineae (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai Scientific and Technical Publishers, 1979. 380–381
Zhou Z Q, Zhu X T, Wang W J, et al. Varieties with different kernel types by scanning electron microscope (in Chinese). J Chin Electron Microsc Soc, 2001, 3: 178–184
Yang J F, Luo Z G, Luo F X. Research progress of the crystalline structure of starch (in Chinese). Sci Technol Food Ind, 2007, 28: 240–243
Badi S M, Hoseney R C, Casad A J. Pearl millet. I. Characterization by SEM, amino acid analysis, lipid composition, and prolamine solubility. Cereal Chem, 1975, 4: 478–487
Ge W, Liu L, ** Z Y. Morphological analyses on starch granules of five grass species and their significance for archaeology (in Chinese). Quat Sci, 2010, 2: 377–384
Kong Z C, Liu C J, Zhang J Z, et al. Plant relics in the archaeological sites of China and the virgin agriculture (in Chinese). Cult Relics Central Chin, 2003, 2: 4–13
Hizukuri S. Starch Science Handbook (in Japanese). Tokyo: Asakura Publishing Co. Ltd., 1977. 31–32
Huang Q, Lou F X, Yang L S. Progress of research on the starch granules (in Chinese). Polymer Mater Sci Eng, 2004, 20: 19–23
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, Q., Li, X., Zhou, X. et al. Investigation of the ultrastructural characteristics of foxtail and broomcorn millet during carbonization and its application in archaeobotany. Chin. Sci. Bull. 56, 1495–1502 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4423-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4423-1