A novel morphometric method for differentiating wild and domesticated barley through intra-rachis measurements

• A novel identification method for differentiating between wild and domesticated-type barley spikelets is suggested.
• The method uses visibly measurable features in burned and unburned archaeobotanical assemblages.
• We used the Probid statistical approach to analyse measurements of a database of ∼2000 barley triplet.

The main methods used for determining whether cereal remains from archaeological site were domesticated or not are based on the type of rachis scars and grain size. However, both ways suffer from uncertainties, and more reliable methods are in need. In this work we suggest such a novel differentiating method. We developed two statistical equations, one for unburned and one for burned (charred) wild (Hordeum spontaneum) and domesticated (Hordeum distichum) barley triplets. These equations are based on clearly measurable characteristics of the upper scars of triplets from modern barley populations. The equations yield the probability (P) that a triplet is from a domesticated variety. Using different batches of barley collected in Israel, it was confirmed that at P > 0.8 and P > 0.7 for unburned and charred triplets, respectively, domesticated barley was correctly identified at a certainty of >99%.