Exploration of amphora’s function based on residue analysis: Taking the Liguaigou site in Wuqi County, Shaanxi Province as an example

As one of the typical artifacts of the Yangshao culture, the amphora has small mouth and sharp bottom, which has attracted widespread attention of domestic and international scholars. But there is still quite controversial about its function. Therefore, this paper analyzed the residues of 6 amphoras unearthed from Liguaigou site using the analysis methods of starch grains and phytoliths based on previous research, the starch grains mainly include millet, triticeae, edible beans, roots and tubers. With the discovery of damaged starch grains associated with fermentation and some suspected molds and yeast cells, it is inferred that the amphoras of Liguaigou site should belong to wine vessels, the experimental results still need more data to support the research and judgment of fermentation technology. In a word, the experimental results provide new data for the functional analysis of the amphora, and confirming that winemaking should have been a general social activity in the small settlements represented by the Liguaigou site in northern Shaanxi.