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Smith GM, Ruebens K, Zavala EI, Sinet-Mathiot V, Fewlass H, Pederzani S, Jaouen K, Mylopotamitaki D, Britton K, Rougier H, Stahlschmidt M, Meyer M, Meller H, Dietl H, Orschiedt J, Krause J, Schüler T, McPherron SP, Weiss M, Hublin JJ, Welker F. The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:564-577. [PMID: 38297138 PMCID: PMC10927544 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Recent excavations at Ranis (Germany) identified an early dispersal of Homo sapiens into the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago. Here we integrate results from zooarchaeology, palaeoproteomics, sediment DNA and stable isotopes to characterize the ecology, subsistence and diet of these early H. sapiens. We assessed all bone remains (n = 1,754) from the 2016-2022 excavations through morphology (n = 1,218) or palaeoproteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (n = 536) and species by proteome investigation (n = 212)). Dominant taxa include reindeer, cave bear, woolly rhinoceros and horse, indicating cold climatic conditions. Numerous carnivore modifications, alongside sparse cut-marked and burnt bones, illustrate a predominant use of the site by hibernating cave bears and denning hyaenas, coupled with a fluctuating human presence. Faunal diversity and high carnivore input were further supported by ancient mammalian DNA recovered from 26 sediment samples. Bulk collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from 52 animal and 10 human remains confirm a cold steppe/tundra setting and indicate a homogenous human diet based on large terrestrial mammals. This lower-density archaeological signature matches other Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician sites and is best explained by expedient visits of short duration by small, mobile groups of pioneer H. sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoff M Smith
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Kent, UK.
| | - Karen Ruebens
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Elena Irene Zavala
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Virginie Sinet-Mathiot
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR 5199, Pessac, France
| | - Helen Fewlass
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Ancient Genomics Lab, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Sarah Pederzani
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Archaeological Micromorphology and Biomarker Lab, University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | - Klervia Jaouen
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Toulouse, France
| | - Dorothea Mylopotamitaki
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Kate Britton
- Department of Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland
| | - Hélène Rougier
- Department of Anthropology, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA, USA
| | - Mareike Stahlschmidt
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Holger Dietl
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Jörg Orschiedt
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Shannon P McPherron
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marcel Weiss
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Frido Welker
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Parfitt SA, Bello SM. Bone tools, carnivore chewing and heavy percussion: assessing conflicting interpretations of Lower and Upper Palaeolithic bone assemblages. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231163. [PMID: 38179084 PMCID: PMC10762443 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
The use of bone tools by early humans has provided valuable insights into their technology, behaviour and cognitive abilities. However, identifying minimally modified or unshaped Palaeolithic osseous tools can be challenging, particularly when they are mixed with bones altered by natural taphonomic processes. This has hampered the study of key technical innovations, such as the use of bones, antlers and teeth as hammers or pressure-flakers to work (knap) stone tools. Bones chewed by carnivores can resemble osseous knapping tools and have sometimes been mistaken for them. In this paper, we review recent advances in the study of osseous knapping tools with a focus on two Palaeolithic sites in the UK, the Acheulean Horse Butchery Site at Boxgrove and the Magdalenian site of Gough's Cave, where knapping tools were mis-attributed to carnivore chewing. These osseous knapping tools are investigated using microscopy, high-resolution imaging and comparisons with experimental knapping tools. This allows for new insights into human behaviour at these sites and opens fresh avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon A. Parfitt
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
- Centre of Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Silvia M. Bello
- Centre of Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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3
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Mylopotamitaki D, Harking FS, Taurozzi AJ, Fagernäs Z, Godinho RM, Smith GM, Weiss M, Schüler T, McPherron SP, Meller H, Cascalheira J, Bicho N, Olsen JV, Hublin JJ, Welker F. Comparing extraction method efficiency for high-throughput palaeoproteomic bone species identification. Sci Rep 2023; 13:18345. [PMID: 37884544 PMCID: PMC10603084 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44885-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
High-throughput proteomic analysis of archaeological skeletal remains provides information about past fauna community compositions and species dispersals in time and space. Archaeological skeletal remains are a finite resource, however, and therefore it becomes relevant to optimize methods of skeletal proteome extraction. Ancient proteins in bone specimens can be highly degraded and consequently, extraction methods for well-preserved or modern bone might be unsuitable for the processing of highly degraded skeletal proteomes. In this study, we compared six proteomic extraction methods on Late Pleistocene remains with variable levels of proteome preservation. We tested the accuracy of species identification, protein sequence coverage, deamidation, and the number of post-translational modifications per method. We find striking differences in obtained proteome complexity and sequence coverage, highlighting that simple acid-insoluble proteome extraction methods perform better in highly degraded contexts. For well-preserved specimens, the approach using EDTA demineralization and protease-mix proteolysis yielded a higher number of identified peptides. The protocols presented here allowed protein extraction from ancient bone with a minimum number of working steps and equipment and yielded protein extracts within three working days. We expect further development along this route to benefit large-scale screening applications of relevance to archaeological and human evolution research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Mylopotamitaki
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France.
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Florian S Harking
- Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Zandra Fagernäs
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ricardo M Godinho
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Geoff M Smith
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Kent, UK
| | - Marcel Weiss
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Shannon P McPherron
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology, Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - João Cascalheira
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Nuno Bicho
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Jesper V Olsen
- Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Frido Welker
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Rigaud S, Rybin EP, Khatsenovich AM, Queffelec A, Paine CH, Gunchinsuren B, Talamo S, Marchenko DV, Bolorbat T, Odsuren D, Gillam JC, Izuho M, Fedorchenko AY, Odgerel D, Shelepaev R, Hublin JJ, Zwyns N. Symbolic innovation at the onset of the Upper Paleolithic in Eurasia shown by the personal ornaments from Tolbor-21 (Mongolia). Sci Rep 2023; 13:9545. [PMID: 37308668 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36140-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Figurative depictions in art first occur ca. 50,000 years ago in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Considered by most as an advanced form of symbolic behavior, they are restricted to our species. Here, we report a piece of ornament interpreted as a phallus-like representation. It was found in a 42,000 ca.-year-old Upper Paleolithic archaeological layer at the open-air archaeological site of Tolbor-21, in Mongolia. Mineralogical, microscopic, and rugosimetric analyses points toward the allochthonous origin of the pendant and a complex functional history. Three-dimensional phallic pendants are unknown in the Paleolithic record, and this discovery predates the earliest known sexed anthropomorphic representation. It attests that hunter-gatherer communities used sex anatomical attributes as symbols at a very early stage of their dispersal in the region. The pendant was produced during a period that overlaps with age estimates for early introgression events between Homo sapiens and Denisovans, and in a region where such encounters are plausible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solange Rigaud
- CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, UMR5199 PACEA Bâtiment B2 Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 33615, Pessac, France.
| | - Evgeny P Rybin
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Lavrentiev Ave., Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090.
| | - Arina M Khatsenovich
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Lavrentiev Ave., Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Alain Queffelec
- CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, UMR5199 PACEA Bâtiment B2 Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 33615, Pessac, France
| | - Clea H Paine
- Archaeology Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands, Kirkwall, UK
| | - Byambaa Gunchinsuren
- Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Peace Avenue, Ulaanbaatar, 13330, Mongolia
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", University of Bologna, Via Selmi, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Daria V Marchenko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Lavrentiev Ave., Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Tsedendorj Bolorbat
- Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Peace Avenue, Ulaanbaatar, 13330, Mongolia
| | - Davaakhuu Odsuren
- Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Peace Avenue, Ulaanbaatar, 13330, Mongolia
| | | | - Masami Izuho
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan
| | - Alexander Yu Fedorchenko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Lavrentiev Ave., Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | | | - Roman Shelepaev
- V.S. Sobolev's Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Science, Ak. Koptyug Avenue 3, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Zwyns
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of California-Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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5
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Domestic spaces as crucibles of Paleolithic culture: An archaeological perspective. J Hum Evol 2022; 172:103266. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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