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Epicuticular wax components preserved in potsherds as chemical indicators of leafy vegetables in ancient diets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

R. P. Evershed ,
C. Heron  and
L. J. Goad
R. P. Evershed
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
C. Heron*
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
L. J. Goad
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
*
Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 1DP, UK
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Extract

The determination of the leafy vegetable constituents of the diets of early societies is notoriously difficult using traditional archaeobotanical techniques. In an effort to provide a solution to this problem, a new approach, using gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), has been adopted to detect the presence of preserved epicuticular leaf wax components absorbed in potsherds. The characteristic compounds identified can serve as chemotaxonomic indicators of the vegetables prepared in vessels during their usage.

Type
Notes
Information
Antiquity , Volume 65 , Issue 248 , September 1991 , pp. 540 - 544
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 1991

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