Differentiation of charred corn samples via processing methods : an ethno-archaeological and experimental approach

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the connection between Zea mays, or corn, processing methods and certain physical identifying characteristics that are visible under magnification of charred corn from the archaeological record. Based on ethnographic research of corn processing and cooking methods for extant tribes in the Mississippi and Missouri River valleys, a series of experiments were conducted to replicate the likely processing methods employed by Oneota peoples that would produce charred corn kernels in order to duplicate what is recovered from the archaeological record. Results were then compared with the charred corn samples from the Pammel Creek (47Lc61) and Valley View (47Lc34) sites, both of which exhibit Oneota occupation and are located along the Upper Mississippi Valley in western Wisconsin. Similarities in physical identifying characteristics, namely corn kernel shape, degree of kernel distortion, and the presence or absence of corn kernel embryos, indicated that parched corn was being processed by boiling at both of these sites