POLLEN, STARCH, PROTEIN, AND ORGANIC RESIDUE (FTIR) ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES FROM SITE CA-SAC-15/H, SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Site CA-SAC-15/H, a large longer-term habitation site, is located in Sacramento County, California adjacent to the Sacramento River and backwater areas in the Central Valley Region. Radiocarbon dates from the site fall between Cal 310 and 1490 BP. Samples representing shaped clay, basket-impressed clay, and flaked lithics from the site were submitted in 2010 for starch, protein, and organic residue analysis using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Additional shaped clay, flaked lithics, groundstone, and soil samples were submitted in 2013 from the site for organic residue (FTIR), starch, protein, and pollen analysis. As we expanded our FTIR reference library in the interval between these two submissions we have noted patterns in signatures that are relevant to interpretations made in the first submission for this study. All original FTIR signatures were recollected for consistency and reinterpreted as part of this current report.