Applying Starch Grain Residue Analysis to Reconstruct Past Diet and Women’s Roles
Archaeobotany is a distinct field within archaeology, archaeobotanists interpret macro and micro plant remains questioning the relationship between humans and plants. My goal is to investigate what plant-based food Nisenan women processed across their landscape, by assessing starch grain residue present in bedrock milling features at Saddleback Ranches in Yuba County, California. In order to explore my research questions, I will create a starch grain comparative collection to identify any starch grains, review ethnographic and ethnohistoric literature and consult modern Nisenan women. The identification of starch grains would benefit archaeobotanists, California archaeologist as well as the Nisenan community. My interpretations of starch grains in correspondence with generalizations of hunter-gatherer’s division of labor will illuminate the traditional under-representation of women’s gender roles within California prehistory.