植物硅酸体分析在农业考古中的应用

植物硅酸体，又称植硅石（ｐｈｙｔｏｌｉｔｈ），是指高等植物细胞中发育的硅质颗粒，易鉴定且较易被保存在考古地层和遗物中。许多栽培植物能够产生具属种一级鉴定特征的植物硅酸体。通过考古土壤等样品的硅酸体分析，能够较好地恢复史前农耕面貌与特点。目前，已有一些栽培植物的硅酸体形态得到了较好的研究，当代考古植物学家也有一些成功的研究范例。植物硅酸体分析，将在农业考古研究中发挥重要的作用。     

Plant microremains provide direct evidence for the functions of stone knives from the Lajia site,northwestern China

A large number of stone knives have been recovered from Neolithic archaeological sites in East Asia. However, direct evidence regarding the functions of the stone knives has been scarce, and hence, their functions have remained controversial. In this study, we recovered and analysed ancient starch grains and phytoliths from residues adhering to stone knives excavated from the Lajia site, Qinghai Province, northwest China, thus providing direct evidence for the functions of the knives. Our anal- yses were based on the following： （1） an assemblage of 278 identifiable starch grains, representing grains from the stems of foxtail millet （Setaria italica） and broomcorn millet （Panicum miliaceum） （65.1% of the total） and the stems of Hordeum and Triticum species （3.6 % of the total）, and （2） an assemblage of 361 identifiable phytoliths, the majority of which were from the stems and leaves of plants such as Panicoideae and related taxa （96 % of the total）. Our study demonstrates that one of the functions of the stone knives was the harvesting crops. In addition, a few starch grains from food legumes and roots （3.4 % of the total） indicate that the stone knives were also likely used to process, peel and cut some foods.     

植物硅酸体及其在环境考古学中的应用

介绍植物硅酸体的产生、形态、分类及研究简史，重点讨论其在环境考古中的应用及意义。植物硅酸体具有个体小、产量高、抗风化、耐高温且易于鉴定等特征，因而在环境考古研究中将发挥重要的作用。     

Phytolith carbon sequestration in bamboos of different ecotypes: a case study in China

Occlusion of carbon （C） within phytoliths （PhytOC） is becoming one of the most promising terrestrial C sequestration mechanisms. This study explored the production of PhytOC within 35 bamboo species belonging to three ecotypes using methods of microwave digestion. The aim of this study is to explore the present and potential C sequestration rate within phytoliths of bamboo species from three ecotypes. PhytOC content in bamboos of three ecotypes ranges from 0.07 % to 0.42 %. The mean PhytOC production flux decreases as： clustered bamboo （0.050 ± 0.016 t CO2 ha^-1 a^-1） ≈ mixed bamboo （0.049 ± 0.016 t CO2 ha^-1 a^-l） 〉 scattered bamboo （0.038 ± 0.020 t CO2 ha^-1 a^-1）. The phytolith carbon sequestration in Chinese bamboo is estimated to be 0.293±0.127 Tg （1 Tg = 1012 g） CO2 a^-1; approximately 75 %, 3 %, and 22 % of which is contributed from scattered, mixed and clustered bamboo, respectively. Taking the PhytOC production flux of 0.18 ± 0.12 t CO2 ha^-1 a^-1 and current annual area increasing rate of 3 %, global bamboo phytoliths would sequester 11.9 ± 7.9 Tg CO2 a^-1 by 2050. Consequently, bamboo forests have significant potential to mitigate the increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2 by maximizing PhytOC production flux and expanding bamboos.     

Component and simulation of the 4,000-year-old noodles excavated from the archaeological site of Lajia in Qinghai,China

Noodles are a global food, but the periods when and places where they were made and originated, as well as their ingredients and the cooking methods used to manu- facture them, have remained contentious. In the 2005 edi- tion of the journal Nature, we wrote a summary of the millet noodle specimens found in the Late Neolithic Qijia cultural stratum of the Lajia archaeological site in Qinghai Province, China. However, how the ancient people made millet noodles remains controversial. This paper provides a systematic analysis of the remains of noodles found within an earthenware bowl at the Lajia ＂noodle house＂ in terms of their plant composition including phytoliths, starch and biomarkers. It provides evidence of how people used millet 4,000 years ago and, most specifically, of the principal methods used for producing millet-based noodles. Further, we show how we used traditional hele tools to make hele millet noodles, with especial reference to the gelatinized hydrogel-forming method, to simulate morphology con- sistent with the composition and form of the unearthed millet noodles. The results of this study provide new evi- dence and new insights into the cultural characteristics of the prehistoric human diet.