Abstract
Phytoliths from two different wheat species, Triticum monococcum and Triticum durum, known for their long-lasting significance to humans, were studied by a multi-analytical approach. Characterisation of phytoliths assisted in understanding their microstructure and behaviour after extraction from plants by the dry ashing and the wet ashing methods. The phytoliths extracted from different parts of the plant, namely the inflorescence and the stem-leaves, were characterised by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF), elemental CHNS analysis, thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric analysis (TGA-DTGA) and scanning electron microscopy coupled by energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). The plants were cultivated at the same period and under the same climatic conditions in the Pella area, northern Greece. The mineralogical and chemical composition of the recovered phytoliths is controlled by the extraction method, strongly suggesting that comparison of phytoliths extracted from plants is meaningful only if the method of extraction remains the same. Physicochemical characteristics of fresh phytoliths extracted from plants provided useful information on the their preservation state after laboratory processing that may further contribute to the study of aged phytoliths in archaeological sites.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
Many wonderful people offered their support to improve this research. The authors wish to thank Georgios Doumos (Irini’s garden/organic farm, Pella) for generously offering the plant samples; and Giorgo Skretis (Sculpture and Environmental Art, The Glasgow School of Art), Dr. Panagiotis Karkanas and Dr. Dimitrios Michailidis (Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science, American School of Classical Studies at Athens), Dr. Evangelia Kiriatzi (Fitch Laboratory, British School at Athens), Asst. prof. dr. Despina Pentari, Dr. Antonios Stratakis, Pavlina Rotonto, Chamilaki Eleni and Dr. Stylianos Sfakiotakis (School of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete) for making available the laboratory equipment necessary for our analyses and for their overall contribution towards the improvement of this project. Finally, the reviewers and the editors of Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences are acknowledged for their appreciated comments.
Funding
This research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) through the Operational Programme «Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning» in the context of the project “Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research” (MIS-5000432), implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation (ΙΚΥ).
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Andriopoulou, N.C., Christidis, G.E. Multi-analytical characterisation of wheat biominerals: impact of methods of extraction on the mineralogy and chemistry of phytoliths. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 12, 186 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01091-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01091-5