Confirmation of Starchy Plant Processing in Lagoa Santa by Paleoindian People: Results of Microrremain and Use-Wear Analysis at Lapa Grande de Taquaraçu

ABSTRACT For decades, the importance of tuberous plants in central Brazil’s Paleoindian subsistence models has been indirectly inferred through dental and lithic analysis. However, little direct evidence about the consumption of this type of plant has been produced. In this report, we present some of the earliest evidence for starchy plant processing in the area. To do so, starch-grain and use-wear analyses were applied to lithics from the Lapa Grande de Taquaraçu site. This is a small limestone rock shelter located in an area bordering the Lagoa Santa micro-region (Minas Gerais State, Brazil), occupied from ca. 11,500 to 1000 calendar years ago. The presence of starch grains in almost every lithic artifact analyzed, together with use-wear marks, suggest their use in the processing of tuberous plants and, indirectly, the consumption of this type of vegetable resource among Paleoindian groups. Moreover, morphological modifications shown in some of the starch grains might indicate cooking or fermentation.