NSF-FUNDED EXPERIMENTAL SEED PROCESSING
in the Laboratory for Traditional Technology
On May 26, 2015, the LTT was pleased to host an NSF-funded project by SoA alumna Dr. Tammy Buonasera (Ph.D. Arizona 2013: Advisor: Mary Stiner). A number of students and faculty volunteered for the experiment. Dr. Buonasera also employed as a research assistant, Natasha Rapp, a junior majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Geosciences.
Below is a summary of the experiment, submitted by Dr. Tammy Buonasera
Volunteers processed Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) seeds into flour using five different types of basalt milling tools. A future session will do the same using duplicate sets made from sandstone. These are the first of several seed processing sessions that will be hosted in the LTT over the next year.
The experiments are funded by NSF award BCS1452079, Formal Models of Traditional Milling Tool Designs (Tammy Buonasera, PI). They will generate much needed comparative information on the use of different milling tool shapes and raw material choices observed among a wide range of prehistoric foraging societies (e.g., mid- to late Holocene California, or parts of the Near East during the Epipaleolithic). This information will be used to generate better-informed hypotheses about specific constraints and tradeoffs faced by women (arguably, the primary food processors) in some prehistoric foraging societies.
The experiments employ a factorial design comparing five tool shapes (three mortar and two metate forms), two types of raw materials (sandstone and basalt), and three broad types of plant resources (small seeds, acorns, and tule roots). This structure allows tool performance to be compared as single factors or combinations of factors are varied. Comparisons include average and maximum grinding rates, wear rates and characteristics, and flour particle sizes.
Additionally, macroscopic and microscopic use-wear is monitored and recorded after each session. Photographs and photomicrographs produced from this process will be organized into a digital reference set for ground stone use-wear analysis. The digital reference materials will be shared with a wide archaeological audience through tDAR.
Natasha Rapp, a junior majoring in anthropology and minoring in geosciences, has gained experience recording macroscopic and microscopic patterns of use-wear.
Stay tuned, another session will follow in the early fall and more volunteers are needed!
For more photos of the project, click here