A PHYTOLITH AND STARCH RECORD OF FOOD AND GRIT IN MAYAN HUMAN TOOTH TARTAR

Diet often is reconstructed based on indirect evidence. Tooth tartar traps food particles, preserving a record of food consumed. Dental calculus removed from primary and secondary burials at Kichpanha was examined to identify imbedded phytoliths, starch granules, and debris as indicators of diet. The purpose of this study is to determine whether phytoliths and starch granules are preserved and recoverable from human dental calculus, to establish appropriate methods for this recovery and to identify specific plants consumed. Kichpanha is a lowland Mayan site in north central Belize. This small, peripheral site was occupied from the Preclassic to the Early Postclassic (900 BC - 900 AD).