An exploration of image recognition in archaeological starch analysis

Abstract

The goal of this thesis was to produce a statistical method of assigning species to starch granules recovered from eastern North American archaeological assemblages. Starch grain analysis is an archaeobotanical tool that can be used to answer important questions about prehistoric diet and medicine use. In eastern North America this technique can be useful in tracking the spread and adoption of Peruvian and Mexican cultivars maize and beans, as well as identify the use of locally occurring starch rich plants which would have been used as food and medicines. [...]