Starch Fossils and the Domestication and Dispersal of Chili Peppers (Capsicum spp. L.) in the Americas
Linda Perry1,
Ruth Dickau2,
Sonia Zarrillo2,
Irene Holst3,
Deborah M. Pearsall4,
Dolores R. Piperno1,3,
Mary Jane Berman5,
Richard G. Cooke3,
Kurt Rademaker6,
Anthony J. Ranere7,
J. Scott Raymond2,
Daniel H. Sandweiss6,8,
Franz Scaramelli9,
Kay Tarble10 and
James A. Zeidler11
1 Archaeobiology Program, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Post Office Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013–7012, USA.
2 Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
3 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843–03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama.
4 Department of Anthropology, 107 Swallow Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
5 Center for American and World Cultures, 105 MacMillan Hall, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
6 Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 120 Alumni Hall, Orono, ME 04469–5773, USA.
7 Department of Anthropology, Temple University, 1115 West Berks Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
8 Department of Anthropology, South Stevens 5773, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469–5773, USA.
9 Centro de Antropología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Carretera Panamericana, Kilometer 11, Altos de Pipe, Venezuela.
10 Departamento de Arqueología, Etnohistoria y Ecología Cultural, Escuela de Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas 1041, Venezuela.
11 Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
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Fig. 2. Modern and archaeological starch granules from Capsicum. (A) Starch granule from the fruit of modern Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum (aji mirasol) showing typical morphology. Note the rounded lenticular form and large, flat, central depression. (B) Archaeological Capsicum starch granule from Loma Alta. (C) Archaeological starch granule of Capsicum from Real Alto. (D) Starch granule from a modern specimen of Capsicum annuum var. minimum. This starch granule is typical of those from wild peppers. (E) Side view of a modern starch granule from Capsicum baccatum. Note the linear figure. (F) Side view of an archaeological starch granule of Capsicum from Zapotal.
[View Larger Version of this Image (117K GIF file)]
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