Formation of dihydroxy acids from Z-monounsaturated alkenoic acids and their use as biomarkers for the processing of marine commodities in archaeological pottery vessels

Distributions of erythro and threo dihydroxy acids, extracted from ‘bound’ forms of organic residues preserved in archaeological pottery cooking vessels are shown to be the direct products from Z-monounsaturated alkenoic acids present in the original commodities, and are useful biomarkers for detecting marine animal product processing/consumption by ancient people.