Publication Date:
2011-06-01
Description:
Henry et al. (1) argued for greater sophistication in Neanderthal diets on the basis of the identification of ancient starch granules, some of which—according to changes in morphology—displayed “clear evidence of cooking.” Despite the emphasis on morphology and morphological change, there is no attempt to apply any statistical rigor to their morphology-based identifications (cf. ref. 2); nor is there any attempt to independently confirm that any of the observed structures are indeed composed of starch. Biochemical tests, such as digestion with Bacillus licheniformis 1,4-α-d-glucan-glucanohydrolase (3), can confirm the presence of starch and may give some insight into diagenesis. Similar characterization...
Keywords:
Letters
Print ISSN:
0027-8424
Electronic ISSN:
1091-6490
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
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