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Reidsma FH. Laboratory-based experimental research into the effect of diagenesis on heated bone: implications and improved tools for the characterisation of ancient fire. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17544. [PMID: 36323729 PMCID: PMC9630262 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21622-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of fire is considered to be one of the most important cultural innovations in human evolution. Understanding the taphonomy of fire remains is an important prerequisite for valid interpretations of hominin fire-related behaviour. Presented here are the results of a series of laboratory-based experiments testing the effect of different pH conditions (acidic, neutral, alkaline) on the physical and chemical properties of heated bone (charred and combusted). By taking a fundamental-research approach the study gives insight into the specific effect of pH exposure and its underlying chemical processes, and provides data that can be applied to heated bone from any context and time period. Results show that diagenesis has a significant impact on the preservation potential of heated bones, as well as on the reliability of the analytical techniques used to reconstruct past heating conditions. The study provides reference data and a toolkit for the analysis of heated bone, that explicitly takes diagenesis into account, and in doing so offers a significant improvement to the accuracy with which we can reconstruct heating conditions and fire-related human behaviour in the past.
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Affiliation(s)
- Femke H. Reidsma
- grid.5132.50000 0001 2312 1970Human Origins Group, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands ,grid.5477.10000000120346234GeoLab, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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2
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Frahm E, Adler DS, Gasparyan B, Luo B, Mallol C, Pajović G, Tostevin GB, Yeritsyan B, Monnier G. Every contact leaves a trace: Documenting contamination in lithic residue studies at the Middle Palaeolithic sites of Lusakert Cave 1 (Armenia) and Crvena Stijena (Montenegro). PLoS One 2022; 17:e0266362. [PMID: 35390045 PMCID: PMC8989205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigations of organic lithic micro-residues have, over the last decade, shifted from entirely morphological observations using visible-light microscopy to compositional ones using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy, providing a seemingly objective chemical basis for residue identifications. Contamination, though, remains a problem that can affect these results. Modern contaminants, accumulated during the post-excavation lives of artifacts, are pervasive, subtle, and even “invisible” (unlisted ingredients in common lab products). Ancient contamination is a second issue. The aim of residue analysis is to recognize residues related to use, but other types of residues can also accumulate on artifacts. Caves are subject to various taphonomic forces and organic inputs, and use-related residues can degrade into secondary compounds. This organic “background noise” must be taken into consideration. Here we show that residue contamination is more pervasive than is often appreciated, as revealed by our studies of Middle Palaeolithic artifacts from two sites: Lusakert Cave 1 in Armenia and Crvena Stijena in Montenegro. First, we explain how artifacts from Lusakert Cave 1, despite being handled following specialized protocols, were tainted by a modern-day contaminant from an unanticipated source: a release agent used inside the zip-top bags that are ubiquitous in the field and lab. Second, we document that, when non-artifact “controls” are studied alongside artifacts from Crvena Stijena, comparisons reveal that organic residues are adhered to both, indicating that they are prevalent throughout the sediments and not necessarily related to use. We provide suggestions for reducing contamination and increasing the reliability of residue studies. Ultimately, we propose that archaeologists working in the field of residue studies must start with the null hypothesis that miniscule organic residues reflect contamination, either ancient or modern, and systematically proceed to rule out all possible contaminants before interpreting them as evidence of an artifact’s use in the distant past.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellery Frahm
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Daniel S. Adler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Boris Gasparyan
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Bing Luo
- Characterization Facility, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Carolina Mallol
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | | | - Gilbert B. Tostevin
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Benik Yeritsyan
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Gilliane Monnier
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
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3
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Braun DR, Faith JT, Douglass MJ, Davies B, Power MJ, Aldeias V, Conard NJ, Cutts R, DeSantis LRG, Dupont LM, Esteban I, Kandel AW, Levin NE, Luyt J, Parkington J, Pickering R, Quick L, Sealy J, Stynder D. Ecosystem engineering in the Quaternary of the West Coast of South Africa. Evol Anthropol 2021; 30:50-62. [PMID: 33604991 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Despite advances in our understanding of the geographic and temporal scope of the Paleolithic record, we know remarkably little about the evolutionary and ecological consequences of changes in human behavior. Recent inquiries suggest that human evolution reflects a long history of interconnections between the behavior of humans and their surrounding ecosystems (e.g., niche construction). Developing expectations to identify such phenomena is remarkably difficult because it requires understanding the multi-generational impacts of changes in behavior. These long-term dynamics require insights into the emergent phenomena that alter selective pressures over longer time periods which are not possible to observe, and are also not intuitive based on observations derived from ethnographic time scales. Generative models show promise for probing these potentially unexpected consequences of human-environment interaction. Changes in the uses of landscapes may have long term implications for the environments that hominins occupied. We explore other potential proxies of behavior and examine how modeling may provide expectations for a variety of phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Braun
- The George Washington University, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - John Tyler Faith
- Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Matthew J Douglass
- College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.,Agricultural Research Division, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Benjamin Davies
- Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Mitchel J Power
- Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of Geography, Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Vera Aldeias
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Russell Cutts
- Emory University-Oxford College, History and Social Sciences (Anthropology), Oxford, Georgia, USA
| | - Larisa R G DeSantis
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Lydie M Dupont
- MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Irene Esteban
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Andrew W Kandel
- The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Naomi E Levin
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Julie Luyt
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - John Parkington
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Robyn Pickering
- Department of Geological Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.,Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Lynne Quick
- African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
| | - Judith Sealy
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Deano Stynder
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Short-term occupations at high elevation during the Middle Paleolithic at Kalavan 2 (Republic of Armenia). PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245700. [PMID: 33539405 PMCID: PMC7861461 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Armenian highlands encompasses rugged and environmentally diverse landscapes and is characterized by a mosaic of distinct ecological niches and large temperature gradients. Strong seasonal fluctuations in resource availability along topographic gradients likely prompted Pleistocene hominin groups to adapt by adjusting their mobility strategies. However, the role that elevated landscapes played in hunter-gatherer settlement systems during the Late Pleistocene (Middle Palaeolithic [MP]) remains poorly understood. At 1640 m above sea level, the MP site of Kalavan 2 (Armenia) is ideally positioned for testing hypotheses involving elevation-dependent seasonal mobility and subsistence strategies. Renewed excavations at Kalavan 2 exposed three main occupation horizons and ten additional low densities lithic and faunal assemblages. The results provide a new chronological, stratigraphical, and paleoenvironmental framework for hominin behaviors between ca. 60 to 45 ka. The evidence presented suggests that the stratified occupations at Kalavan 2 locale were repeated ephemerally most likely related to hunting in a high-elevation within the mountainous steppe landscape.
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Lemorini C, Cristiani E, Cesaro S, Venditti F, Zupancich A, Gopher A. The use of ash at Late Lower Paleolithic Qesem Cave, Israel-An integrated study of use-wear and residue analysis. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0237502. [PMID: 32956377 PMCID: PMC7505473 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Employing an integrated approach to investigate the use of Late Lower Paleolithic flint tools found at the site of Qesem Cave (Israel), we revealed a particular trace pattern related to the employment of ashes at the site. Using a designated collection of replica items and combining use-wear and residue (morphological analysis, FTIR, SEM-EDX) analyses, we revealed the intentional use of ashes in preserving foods for delayed consumption as well as hide for delayed processing. Our interpretation, we believe is the most plausible one since we were able to delineate the specific use-wear fingerprints of the intentional use of ashes for such purposes, suggesting that our approach might be useful for the recognition of other similar functional-behavioral patterns. Lastly, in support of previous findings at Qesem Cave, our current findings present evidence for the processing of organic matters intentionally mixed with ash, leading us to suggest that the inhabitants of Qesem Cave were proficient not only in the habitual use of fire but also of its main by-product, ash. Hence, we call for a reassessment of the timeline currently assigned to hominins' utilization of ash for storing and processing vegetal foods and hide.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Lemorini
- LTFAPA Laboratory, Department of Classics, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | - E. Cristiani
- DANTE Laboratory, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | - S. Cesaro
- Scientific Methodologies Applied to Cultural Heritage (SMATCH), Rome, Italy
| | - F. Venditti
- LTFAPA Laboratory, Department of Classics, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
- Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - A. Zupancich
- DANTE Laboratory, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | - A. Gopher
- Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Patalano R, Zech J, Roberts P. Leaf Wax Lipid Extraction for Archaeological Applications. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 5:e20114. [DOI: 10.1002/cppb.20114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert Patalano
- Department of Archaeology Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
| | - Jana Zech
- Department of Archaeology Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
- School of Social Science The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- Archaeological Studies Program University of Philippines, Diliman, Quenzon City Philippines
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