Effects of acetolysis on starch granules

[Display omitted] •Acetolysis should be used cautiously for ancient starch samples.•Acetolysis caused shrinkage in the average size of rice, maize, and barley starch.•Acetolysis did not destroy or damage all starch granules in tested taxa. The ability to concurrently analyze multiple microfossils from the same palaeoecological or archaeological sample would allow for faster and multi-evidenced analyses. Most microfossils require chemical processing to become identifiable under different types of microscopy; acetolysis is commonly employed in palynological study. We present the effects of acetolysis on starch-rich elements of four economic taxa. Acetolysis caused slight shrinkage in the average size of starch granules, at statistically significant levels for three of the four taxa explored. The capacity to conduct starch analysis from acetolyzed samples is discussed for archaeological and palaeoecological study.