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Sherds as archaeobotanical assemblages: Gua Sireh reconsidered

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2020

Aleese Barron ,
Ipoi Datan ,
Peter Bellwood ,
Rachel Wood ,
Dorian Q Fuller  and
Tim Denham Open the ORCID record for Tim Denham [Opens in a new window]
Aleese Barron*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Australia
Ipoi Datan
Affiliation:
Retired Director of Sarawak Museum, Kuching, Malaysia
Peter Bellwood
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Australia
Rachel Wood
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Australia Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Australia
Dorian Q Fuller
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK Northwest University, School of Cultural Heritage, Xi'an Shaanxi, China
Tim Denham
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Australia
*
*Author for correspondence: ✉ aleese.barron@anu.edu.au
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Abstract

The earliest claim for domesticated rice in Island Southeast Asia (4960–3565 cal BP) derives from a single grain embedded in a ceramic sherd from Gua Sireh Cave, Borneo. In a first assessment of spikelet-base assemblages within pottery sherds using quantitative microCT analysis, the authors found no additional rice remains within this sherd to support the early date of rice farming; analysis of a more recent Gua Sireh sherd (1990–830 cal BP), however, indicates that 70 per cent of spikelet bases are from domesticated rice. This technique offers a high degree of contextual and temporal resolution for approaching organic-tempered ceramics as well-preserved archaeobotanical assemblages.

Keywords

Island Southeast AsiaBorneoarchaeobotanyrice domesticationmicroCT
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 94 , Issue 377 , October 2020 , pp. 1325 - 1336
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020

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