Starch Recovery on Ceramic and Metal Artifacts at the Morne Patate Archaeology Site, Dominica

This study presents a novel method for recovering starch residues from metal artifacts in Morne Patate, Dominica. Adapting starch recovery methodologies developed for obsidian flakes and ceramic vessels. This study is the first in the colonial Caribbean to extract and identify starch residues—specifically cf. Capsicum sp.—from copper cassava graters, thereby piloting that non-porous, corroded metal tools may preserve microbotanical evidence. The study shows the approach is feasible, but further research is needed to substantiate residues extracted from metal and direct tool use. Additionally, our starch analysis of the site’s ceramic artifact assemblage provides complementary insights into the quotidian lives and dietary practices of Caribbean laborers in the late 18th and early 19th century. These results reinforce the applicability of food residue recovery methodologies across archaeological contexts and material culture. Our residue analysis of copper and ceramic artifacts from the Morne Patate archaeological site in Soufrière, Dominica, highlights the importance of domestic gardening and wild foraging practices in 19th-century plantation contexts. The presence of chili pepper (cf. Capsicum sp.), cassava ( Manihot esculenta ), maize ( Zea mays ), sorghum (cf. Sorghum sp.), and rice (cf. Oryza sp.) suggests that Morne Patate’s residents participated in a multivariate subsistence network, incorporating both plantation provisions and cultivated or foraged foods from beyond the estate’s boundaries.