残留物分析是西方上世纪七十年代发展起来的考古标本功能分析技术,现今已经在我国得到了初步发展和应用,但由于考古标本年代、埋藏环境、器类等方面的差异,针对不同标本的残留物分析手段也不尽相同,旧石器时代考古标本因其年代和性质上的特殊性成为了残留物分析的难点。西方目前已有许多通过各种试验方法进行的旧石器石制品残留物分析实例,而我国至今对旧石器时代石制品的此方面研究还没有先例。本文以水洞沟遗址石制品植物残留物处理为例,简要介绍旧石器时代石制品的植物残留物实验室处理流程、观测方法及注意事项。
Residue analysis used to assess the function of archaeological objects was first developed in the 1970s. Nowadays, this technique has been applied to research around the world, including China, but, with different time periods, depositional environments, artifact types, etc. , the laboratory methods of this type of analysis are, often numerous. Based on this research, we believe that plant residues could be extracted from the Shuidonggou stone artifacts. The Shuidonggou site is a typical Upper Paleolithic site in northwestern China, a vital area for assessing ancient human migration in Eurasia. The semi-arid environment of the site is considered a good condition for the preservation of plant residues. In this study, 103 pieces of chipped stone artifacts were processed for residue analysis in the Paleoethnobotany Lab at University of Missouri- Columbia. The processing included the following steps: concentration, deflocculation, pretreatment, removal of carbonate and organic matter, and heavy liquid flotation. Plant residues including starch grains, plant tissue fragments and phytoliths collected from the Shuidonggou artefacts suggest that ancient humans were engaged in a number of plant processing activities.