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Davin L, Tejero JM, Simmons T, Shaham D, Borvon A, Tourny O, Bridault A, Rabinovich R, Sindel M, Khalaily H, Valla F. Bone aerophones from Eynan-Mallaha (Israel) indicate imitation of raptor calls by the last hunter-gatherers in the Levant. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8709. [PMID: 37296190 PMCID: PMC10256695 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35700-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Direct evidence for Palaeolithic sound-making instruments is relatively rare, with only a few examples recorded from Upper Palaeolithic contexts, particularly in European cultures. However, theoretical considerations suggest that such artefacts have existed elsewhere in the world. Nevertheless, evidence for sound production is tenuous in the prehistoric archaeological record of the Levant, the study of music and its evolution being sparsely explored. Here we report new evidence for Palaeolithic sound-making instruments from the Levant with the discovery of seven aerophones made of perforated bird bones in the Final Natufian site of Eynan-Mallaha, Northern Israel. Through technological, use-wear, taphonomic, experimental and acoustical analyses, we demonstrate that these objects were intentionally manufactured more than 12,000 years ago to produce a range of sounds similar to raptor calls and whose purposes could be at the crossroads of communication, attracting hunting prey and music-making. Although similar aerophones are documented in later archaeological cultures, such artificial bird sounds were yet to be reported from Palaeolithic context. Therefore, the discovery from Eynan-Mallaha contributes new evidence for a distinctive sound-making instrument in the Palaeolithic. Through a combined multidisciplinary approach, our study provides important new data regarding the antiquity and development of the variety of sound-making instruments in the Palaeolithic at large and particularly at the dawn of the Neolithic in the Levant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Davin
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
- CNRS, UAR 3132 Centre de Recherche français à Jérusalem (CRFJ), Jerusalem, Israel.
- CNRS, UMR 8068 Technologie et Ethnologie des Mondes PréhistoriqueS (TEMPS), Nanterre, France.
| | - José-Miguel Tejero
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Seminari d'Estudis I Recerques Prehistoriques (SERP), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Tal Simmons
- Department of Forensic Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Dana Shaham
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Aurélia Borvon
- CNRS, UAR 3132 Centre de Recherche français à Jérusalem (CRFJ), Jerusalem, Israel
- CNRS, UMR 7041 Archéologies Environnementales, Nanterre, France
- Laboratoire d'Anatomie Comparée, École Nationale Vétérinaire, Agroalimentaire et de l'Alimentation (ONIRIS), Nantes, France
| | - Olivier Tourny
- CNRS, UAR 3132 Centre de Recherche français à Jérusalem (CRFJ), Jerusalem, Israel
- CNRS, UMR 7307 Institut d'ethnologie mediterraneenne, europeenne et Comparative (IDEMEC), Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Anne Bridault
- CNRS, UAR 3132 Centre de Recherche français à Jérusalem (CRFJ), Jerusalem, Israel
- CNRS, UMR 7041 Archéologies Environnementales, Nanterre, France
| | - Rivka Rabinovich
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Institute of Earth Sciences, National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marion Sindel
- CNRS, UAR 3132 Centre de Recherche français à Jérusalem (CRFJ), Jerusalem, Israel
- Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Hamudi Khalaily
- CNRS, UAR 3132 Centre de Recherche français à Jérusalem (CRFJ), Jerusalem, Israel
- Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), Jerusalem, Israel
| | - François Valla
- CNRS, UAR 3132 Centre de Recherche français à Jérusalem (CRFJ), Jerusalem, Israel
- CNRS, UMR 8068 Technologie et Ethnologie des Mondes PréhistoriqueS (TEMPS), Nanterre, France
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2
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Emergence of dyestuff chemistry-encoded signal tracers in immunochromatographic assays: Fundamentals and recent food applications. Trends Food Sci Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2022.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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3
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Azo-Dye-Functionalized Polycarbonate Membranes for Textile Dye and Nitrate Ion Removal. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13040577. [PMID: 35457883 PMCID: PMC9030370 DOI: 10.3390/mi13040577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2022] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Challenges exist in the wastewater treatment of dyes produced by the world’s growing textiles industry. Common problems facing traditional wastewater treatments include low retention values and breaking the chemical bonds of some dye molecules, which in some cases can release byproducts that can be more harmful than the original dye. This research illustrates that track-etched polycarbonate filtration membranes with 100-nanometer diameter holes can be functionalized with azo dye direct red 80 at 1000 µM, creating a filter that can then be used to remove the entire negatively charged azo dye molecule for a 50 µM solution of the same dye, with a rejection value of 96.4 ± 1.4%, at a stable flow rate of 114 ± 5 µL/min post-functionalization. Post-functionalization, Na+ and NO3− ions had on average 17.9%, 26.0%, and 31.1% rejection for 750, 500, and 250 µM sodium nitrate solutions, respectively, at an average flow rate of 177 ± 5 µL/min. Post-functionalization, similar 50 µM azo dyes had increases in rejection from 26.3% to 53.2%. Rejection measurements were made using ultraviolet visible-light spectroscopy for dyes, and concentration meters using ion selective electrodes for Na+ and NO3− ions.
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4
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Barzilai O, Oron M, Porat N, White D, Timms R, Blockley S, Zular A, Avni Y, Faershtein G, Weiner S, Boaretto E. Expansion of eastern Mediterranean Middle Paleolithic into the desert region in early marine isotopic stage 5. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4466. [PMID: 35296701 PMCID: PMC8927120 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08296-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Marine Isotopic Stage 5 is associated with wetter climatic conditions in the Saharo-Arabian deserts. This stage also corresponds to the establishment of Middle Paleolithic hominins and their associated material culture in two geographical provinces in southwest Asia—the Eastern Mediterranean woodland and the Arabian Peninsula desert. The lithic industry of the Eastern Mediterranean is characterized by the centripetal Levallois method, whereas the Nubian Levallois method characterizes the populations of the Arabian desert. The Negev Desert, situated between these regions is a key area to comprehend population movement in correlation to climatic zones. This investigation addresses the nature of the Middle Paleolithic settlement in the Negev Desert during MIS 5 by studying the site of Nahal Aqev. High resolution chronological results based on luminescence dating and cryptotephra show the site was occupied from MIS 5e to MIS 5d. The lithic industries at Nahal Aqev are dominated by centripetal Levallois core method. These data demonstrate that Nahal Aqev is much closer in its cultural attributes to the Eastern Mediterranean Middle Paleolithic than to the Arabian Desert entity. We conclude that Nahal Aqev represents an expansion of Middle Paleolithic groups from the Mediterranean woodland into the desert, triggered by better climatic conditions. These groups possibly interacted with hominin groups bearing the Nubian core tradition from the vast region of Arabia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omry Barzilai
- Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquities Authority, POB 586, 91004, Jerusalem, Israel. .,Max Planck-Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, DANGOOR Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Maya Oron
- Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquities Authority, POB 586, 91004, Jerusalem, Israel.,Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Naomi Porat
- Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha'ayahu Leibowitz St., 9692100, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Dustin White
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, University of London, Egham, UK.,Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, UK
| | - Rhys Timms
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Simon Blockley
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, University of London, Egham, UK
| | - André Zular
- Max Planck-Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, DANGOOR Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yoav Avni
- Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha'ayahu Leibowitz St., 9692100, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Galina Faershtein
- Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha'ayahu Leibowitz St., 9692100, Jerusalem, Israel.,Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Steve Weiner
- Max Planck-Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, DANGOOR Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Elisabetta Boaretto
- Max Planck-Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, DANGOOR Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
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5
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Schotsmans EMJ, Busacca G, Lin SC, Vasić M, Lingle AM, Veropoulidou R, Mazzucato C, Tibbetts B, Haddow SD, Somel M, Toksoy-Köksal F, Knüsel CJ, Milella M. New insights on commemoration of the dead through mortuary and architectural use of pigments at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4055. [PMID: 35260577 PMCID: PMC8904496 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07284-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The cultural use of pigments in human societies is associated with ritual activities and the creation of social memory. Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey, 7100–5950 cal BC) provides a unique case study for the exploration of links between pigments in burials, demographic data and colourants in contemporary architectural contexts. This study presents the first combined analysis of funerary and architectural evidence of pigment use in Neolithic Anatolia and discusses the possible social processes underlying the observed statistical patterns. Results reveal that pigments were either applied directly to the deceased or included in the grave as a burial association. The most commonly used pigment was red ochre. Cinnabar was mainly applied to males and blue/green pigment was associated with females. A correlation was found between the number of buried individuals and the number of painted layers in the buildings. Mortuary practices seem to have followed specific selection processes independent of sex and age-at-death of the deceased. This study offers new insights about the social factors involved in pigment use in this community, and contributes to the interpretation of funerary practices in Neolithic Anatolia. Specifically, it suggests that visual expression, ritual performance and symbolic associations were elements of shared long-term socio-cultural practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- E M J Schotsmans
- Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations Passées et Présentes (PACEA), UMR 5199, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France. .,Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
| | | | - S C Lin
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | | | - A M Lingle
- School of History, Archaeology, and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - R Veropoulidou
- Museum of Byzantine Culture, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Thessaloníki, Greece
| | - C Mazzucato
- Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, Stanford, USA
| | - B Tibbetts
- Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - S D Haddow
- Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - M Somel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey
| | - F Toksoy-Köksal
- Department of Geological Engineering, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey
| | - C J Knüsel
- Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations Passées et Présentes (PACEA), UMR 5199, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - M Milella
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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6
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Innovative ochre processing and tool use in China 40,000 years ago. Nature 2022; 603:284-289. [PMID: 35236981 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04445-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Homo sapiens was present in northern Asia by around 40,000 years ago, having replaced archaic populations across Eurasia after episodes of earlier population expansions and interbreeding1-4. Cultural adaptations of the last Neanderthals, the Denisovans and the incoming populations of H. sapiens into Asia remain unknown1,5-7. Here we describe Xiamabei, a well-preserved, approximately 40,000-year-old archaeological site in northern China, which includes the earliest known ochre-processing feature in east Asia, a distinctive miniaturized lithic assemblage with bladelet-like tools bearing traces of hafting, and a bone tool. The cultural assembly of traits at Xiamabei is unique for Eastern Asia and does not correspond with those found at other archaeological site assemblages inhabited by archaic populations or those generally associated with the expansion of H. sapiens, such as the Initial Upper Palaeolithic8-10. The record of northern Asia supports a process of technological innovations and cultural diversification emerging in a period of hominin hybridization and admixture2,3,6,11.
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7
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Tejero JM, Bar-Oz G, Bar-Yosef O, Meshveliani T, Jakeli N, Matskevich Z, Pinhasi R, Belfer-Cohen A. New insights into the Upper Palaeolithic of the Caucasus through the study of personal ornaments. Teeth and bones pendants from Satsurblia and Dzudzuana caves (Imereti, Georgia). PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258974. [PMID: 34748581 PMCID: PMC8575301 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The region of western Georgia (Imereti) in the Southern Caucasus has been a major geographic corridor for human migrations during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Data of recent research and excavations in this region display its importance as a possible route for the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) into northern Eurasia. Nevertheless, within the local research context, bone-working and personal ornaments have yet contributed but little to the Upper Palaeolithic (UP) regional sequence's characterization. Here we present an archaeozoological, technological and use-wear study of pendants from two local UP assemblages, originating in the Dzudzuana Cave and Satsurblia Cave. The ornaments were made mostly of perforated teeth, though some specimens were made on bone. Both the manufacturing marks made during preparation and use-wear traces indicate that they were personal ornaments, used as pendants or attached to garments. Detailed comparison between ornament assemblages from northern and southern Caucasus reveal that they are quite similar, supporting the observation of cultural bonds between the two regions, demonstrated previously through lithic techno-typological affinities. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance attributed to red deer (Cervus elaphus) by the UP societies of the Caucasus in sharing aesthetic values and/or a symbolic sphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- José-Miguel Tejero
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Seminari d’Estudis I Recerques Prehistòriques, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Guy Bar-Oz
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ofer Bar-Yosef
- Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | | | | | | | - Ron Pinhasi
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anna Belfer-Cohen
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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8
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Zaidner Y, Centi L, Prévost M, Mercier N, Falguères C, Guérin G, Valladas H, Richard M, Galy A, Pécheyran C, Tombret O, Pons-Branchu E, Porat N, Shahack-Gross R, Friesem DE, Yeshurun R, Turgeman-Yaffe Z, Frumkin A, Herzlinger G, Ekshtain R, Shemer M, Varoner O, Sarig R, May H, Hershkovitz I. Middle Pleistocene
Homo
behavior and culture at 140,000 to 120,000 years ago and interactions with
Homo sapiens. Science 2021. [DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yossi Zaidner
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Laura Centi
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marion Prévost
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS–Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, 33607 PESSAC Cedex, France
| | - Christophe Falguères
- UMR7194, Départment “Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 75103 Paris, France
| | - Gilles Guérin
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hélène Valladas
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Maïlys Richard
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS–Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, 33607 PESSAC Cedex, France
- UMR7194, Départment “Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 75103 Paris, France
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
| | - Asmodée Galy
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS–Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, 33607 PESSAC Cedex, France
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, BP 576 64012 PAU Cedex, France
| | - Christophe Pécheyran
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, BP 576 64012 PAU Cedex, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- UMR7194, Départment “Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 75103 Paris, France
- UMR7209, Départment Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Edwige Pons-Branchu
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Naomi Porat
- Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ruth Shahack-Gross
- Department of Maritime Civilizations, Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - David E. Friesem
- Department of Maritime Civilizations, Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Reuven Yeshurun
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Zohar Turgeman-Yaffe
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Amos Frumkin
- Cave Research Center, Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus–Givat Ram, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Gadi Herzlinger
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ravid Ekshtain
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Maayan Shemer
- Prehistoric Branch, Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquity Authority, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Oz Varoner
- Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Rachel Sarig
- Department of Oral Biology, Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Hila May
- Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Israel Hershkovitz
- Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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9
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Ardila-Leal LD, Poutou-Piñales RA, Pedroza-Rodríguez AM, Quevedo-Hidalgo BE. A Brief History of Colour, the Environmental Impact of Synthetic Dyes and Removal by Using Laccases. Molecules 2021; 26:3813. [PMID: 34206669 PMCID: PMC8270347 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26133813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Revised: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The history of colour is fascinating from a social and artistic viewpoint because it shows the way; use; and importance acquired. The use of colours date back to the Stone Age (the first news of cave paintings); colour has contributed to the social and symbolic development of civilizations. Colour has been associated with hierarchy; power and leadership in some of them. The advent of synthetic dyes has revolutionized the colour industry; and due to their low cost; their use has spread to different industrial sectors. Although the percentage of coloured wastewater discharged by the textile; food; pharmaceutical; cosmetic; and paper industries; among other productive areas; are unknown; the toxic effect and ecological implications of this discharged into water bodies are harmful. This review briefly shows the social and artistic history surrounding the discovery and use of natural and synthetic dyes. We summarise the environmental impact caused by the discharge of untreated or poorly treated coloured wastewater to water bodies; which has led to physical; chemical and biological treatments to reduce the colour units so as important physicochemical parameters. We also focus on laccase utility (EC 1.10.3.2), for discolouration enzymatic treatment of coloured wastewater, before its discharge into water bodies. Laccases (p-diphenol: oxidoreductase dioxide) are multicopper oxidoreductase enzymes widely distributed in plants, insects, bacteria, and fungi. Fungal laccases have employed for wastewater colour removal due to their high redox potential. This review includes an analysis of the stability of laccases, the factors that influence production at high scales to achieve discolouration of high volumes of contaminated wastewater, the biotechnological impact of laccases, and the degradation routes that some dyes may follow when using the laccase for colour removal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leidy D. Ardila-Leal
- Grupo de Biotecnología Ambiental e Industrial (GBAI), Laboratorio de Biotecnología Molecular, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ), Bogotá 110-23, DC, Colombia;
| | - Raúl A. Poutou-Piñales
- Grupo de Biotecnología Ambiental e Industrial (GBAI), Laboratorio de Biotecnología Molecular, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ), Bogotá 110-23, DC, Colombia;
| | - Aura M. Pedroza-Rodríguez
- Grupo de Biotecnología Ambiental e Industrial (GBAI), Laboratorio de Microbiología Ambiental y de Suelos, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ), Bogotá 110-23, DC, Colombia;
| | - Balkys E. Quevedo-Hidalgo
- Grupo de Biotecnología Ambiental e Industrial (GBAI), Laboratorio de Biotecnología Aplicada, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ), Bogotá 110-23, DC, Colombia;
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10
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Invasive and Non-Invasive Analyses of Ochre and Iron-Based Pigment Raw Materials: A Methodological Perspective. MINERALS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/min11020210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Naturally occurring and deeply coloured iron-bearing materials were exploited very early on by human populations. The characterization of these materials has proven useful for addressing several archaeological issues, such as the study of technical behaviors, group mobility, and the reconstruction of cultural dynamics. However, this work poses some critical methodological questions. In this paper, we will review ochre studies by focusing on the analytical methods employed, the limits of non-invasive methods, as well as examples of some quality research addressing specific issues (raw material selection and provenience, heat treatment). We will then present a methodological approach that aims to identify the instrumental limits and the post-depositional alterations that significantly impact the results of the non-invasive analysis of cohesive ochre fragments from Diepkloof rock Shelter, South Africa. We used ochre materials recuperated in both archaeological and geological contexts, and we compared non-invasive surface analyses by XRD, scanning electron microscopy coupled with dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDXS), and particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) with invasive analysis of powder pellets and sections from the same samples. We conclude that non-invasive SEM-EDXS and PIXE analyses provide non-representative results when the number of measurements is too low and that post-depositional alterations cause significant changes in the mineralogical and major element composition at the surface of archaeological pieces. Such biases, now identified, must be taken into account in future studies in order to propose a rigorous framework for developing archaeological inferences.
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Velliky EC, Schmidt P, Bellot-Gurlet L, Wolf S, Conard NJ. Early anthropogenic use of hematite on Aurignacian ivory personal ornaments from Hohle Fels and Vogelherd caves, Germany. J Hum Evol 2020; 150:102900. [PMID: 33260040 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The Aurignacian (ca. 43-35 ka) of southwestern Germany is well known for yielding some of the oldest artifacts related to symbolic behaviors, including examples of figurative art, musical instruments, and personal ornaments. Another aspect of these behaviors is the presence of numerous pieces of iron oxide (ocher); however, these are comparatively understudied, likely owing to the lack of painted artifacts from this region and time period. Several Aurignacian-aged carved ivory personal ornaments from the sites of Hohle Fels and Vogelherd contain traces of what appear to be red ocher residues. We analyzed these beads using a combination of macroanalytical and microanalytical methods, including scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. We found that the residue is composed of the iron oxide mineral hematite (Fe2O3). Further analyses on associated archaeological sediments by X-ray diffraction revealed the absence of hematite and other iron oxide mineral phases, suggesting that the hematite residues were intentionally applied to the ivory personal ornaments by human agents. These findings have important implications as they represent evidence for the direct application of ocher on portable symbolic objects by early Homo sapiens in Europe. Furthermore, our results reveal shared behavioral practices from two key Aurignacian sites maintained over several millennia and illuminate aspects of pigment use and symbolic practices during a pivotal time in the cultural evolution of humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C Velliky
- SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), Faculty of Humanities, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, Postboks 7805, 5020, Bergen, Norway; Archaeology/Centre for Rock-Art Research and Management, M257, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia; Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Patrick Schmidt
- Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany; Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Geosciences, Applied Mineralogy, Wilhelmstraße 56, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ludovic Bellot-Gurlet
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, "de La Molécule Aux Nano-objets: Réactivité, Interactions et Spectroscopies", MONARIS, UMR 8233, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252, Paris Cedex 5, France
| | - Sibylle Wolf
- Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen, Germany
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Gabora L, Steel M. A model of the transition to behavioural and cognitive modernity using reflexively autocatalytic networks. J R Soc Interface 2020; 17:20200545. [PMID: 33109019 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper proposes a model of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the transition to behavioural and cognitive modernity in the Upper Palaeolithic using autocatalytic networks. These networks have been used to model life's origins. More recently, they have been applied to the emergence of cognitive structure capable of undergoing cultural evolution. Mental representations of knowledge and experiences play the role of catalytic molecules, the interactions among them (e.g. the forging of new associations or affordances) play the role of reactions, and thought processes are modelled as chains of these interactions. We posit that one or more genetic mutations may have allowed thought to be spontaneously tailored to the situation by modulating the degree of (i) divergence (versus convergence), (ii) abstractness (versus concreteness), and (iii) context specificity. This culminated in persistent, unified autocatalytic semantic networks that bridged previously compartmentalized knowledge and experience. We explain the model using one of the oldest-known uncontested examples of figurative art: the carving of the Hohlenstein-Stadel Löwenmensch, or lion man. The approach keeps track of where in a cultural lineage each innovation appears, and models cumulative change step by step. It paves the way for a broad scientific framework for the origins of both biological and cultural evolutionary processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liane Gabora
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC, Canada
| | - Mike Steel
- Biomathematics Research Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
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Personal ornaments from Hayonim and Manot caves (Israel) hint at symbolic ties between the Levantine and the European Aurignacian. J Hum Evol 2020; 160:102870. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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di Porzio U. A bigger brain for a more complex environment. Rev Neurosci 2020; 31:/j/revneuro.ahead-of-print/revneuro-2020-0041/revneuro-2020-0041.xml. [PMID: 32924383 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2020-0041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The environment increased complexity required more neural functions to develop in the hominin brains, and the hominins adapted to the complexity by developing a bigger brain with a greater interconnection between its parts. Thus, complex environments drove the growth of the brain. In about two million years during hominin evolution, the brain increased three folds in size, one of the largest and most complex amongst mammals, relative to body size. The size increase has led to anatomical reorganization and complex neuronal interactions in a relatively small skull. At birth, the human brain is only about 20% of its adult size. That facilitates the passage through the birth canal. Therefore, the human brain, especially cortex, develops postnatally in a rich stimulating environment with continuous brain wiring and rewiring and insertion of billions of new neurons. One of the consequence is that in the newborn brain, neuroplasticity is always turned "on" and it remains active throughout life, which gave humans the ability to adapt to complex and often hostile environments, integrate external experiences, solve problems, elaborate abstract ideas and innovative technologies, store a lot of information. Besides, hominins acquired unique abilities as music, language, and intense social cooperation. Overwhelming ecological, social, and cultural challenges have made the human brain so unique. From these events, as well as the molecular genetic changes that took place in those million years, under the pressure of natural selection, derive the distinctive cognitive abilities that have led us to complex social organizations and made our species successful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umberto di Porzio
- Developmental Neurobiology Laboratory, Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, CNR, Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80128 Naples, Italy
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15
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Radovčić D, Birarda G, Sršen AO, Vaccari L, Radovčić J, Frayer DW. Surface analysis of an eagle talon from Krapina. Sci Rep 2020; 10:6329. [PMID: 32286344 PMCID: PMC7156502 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62938-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The Krapina white-tailed eagle talons represent a kind of jewelry worn by Krapina Neandertals some 130,000 years ago. New inspection of one Krapina talon (386.1) revealed a fiber, sealed by a thin silicate coating, adhering to the surface within a wide cut mark, as well as concentrated traces of occasional spots of red and yellow pigment and some black stains. We analyzed the fiber and small portions of pigmented areas by non-invasive, infrared synchrotron beam. Different areas were targeted, revealing the protein nature of the fiber, identified as of animal origin. Targeted areas revealed intra- and inter-strand aggregation indicating the fiber to be collagen losing its original triple α-helix conformation, further confirming the diagenetic decay of the original collagen structure and the antiquity of the fiber. It is possible that the fiber is a remnant of the leather or sinew string binding the talons together. Spectroscopic analysis of the pigments in two isolated areas confirmed two types of ochre and that the dark spots are charcoal remnants. Applying novel non-invasive technologies provides new possibilities to further test the hypothesis of using prehistoric objects for symbolic purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davorka Radovčić
- Department of Geology and Paleontology, Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Giovanni Birarda
- Synchrotron Infrared Source for Spectroscopy and Imaging - SISSI, Elettra - Sincrotrone, Trieste, Italy
| | - Ankica Oros Sršen
- Institute for Quaternary Paleontology and Geology, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lisa Vaccari
- Synchrotron Infrared Source for Spectroscopy and Imaging - SISSI, Elettra - Sincrotrone, Trieste, Italy
| | - Jakov Radovčić
- Department of Geology and Paleontology, Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - David W Frayer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
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Ravisankar R, Naseerutheen A, Chandrasekaran A, Bramha S, Kanagasabapathy K, Prasad M, Satpathy K. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis of ancient potteries from Vellore District Tamilnadu, India with statistical approach. JOURNAL OF RADIATION RESEARCH AND APPLIED SCIENCES 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jrras.2013.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- R. Ravisankar
- Post Graduate and Research Department of Physics, Government Arts College, Tiruvanamalai, 606 601, India
| | - A. Naseerutheen
- Department of Physics, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam, Tamilnadu, 632509, India
| | - A. Chandrasekaran
- Department of Physics, Global Institute of Engineering & Technology, Vellore, Tamilnadu, 632509, India
| | - S.N. Bramha
- Environment and Safety Division, RSEG, EIRSG, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603 102, India
| | - K.V. Kanagasabapathy
- Environment and Safety Division, RSEG, EIRSG, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603 102, India
| | - M.V.R. Prasad
- Environment and Safety Division, RSEG, EIRSG, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603 102, India
| | - K.K. Satpathy
- Environment and Safety Division, RSEG, EIRSG, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603 102, India
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Velliky EC, Porr M, Conard NJ. Ochre and pigment use at Hohle Fels cave: Results of the first systematic review of ochre and ochre-related artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic in Germany. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209874. [PMID: 30589914 PMCID: PMC6307870 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Though many European Upper Palaeolithic sites document early examples of symbolic material expressions (e.g., cave art, personal ornaments, figurines), there exist few reports on the use of earth pigments outside of cave art-and occasionally Neanderthal-contexts. Here, we present the first in-depth study of the diachronic changes in ochre use throughout an entire Upper Palaeolithic sequence at Hohle Fels cave, Germany, spanning from ca. 44,000-14,500 cal. yr. BP. A reassessment of the assemblage has yielded 869 individual ochre artefacts, of which 27 show traces of anthropogenic modification. The ochre artefacts are from all Upper Palaeolithic layers, stemming from the earliest Aurignacian horizons to the Holocene. This wide temporal spread demonstrates the long-term presence and continuity of ochre use in a part of Europe where it has not been systematically reported before. The anthropogenic modifications present on the ochre artefacts from the Gravettian and Magdalenian are consistent with pigment powder production, whereas the only modified piece from the Aurignacian displays a possible engraved motif. The non-modified artefacts show that more hematite-rich specular ochres as well as fine-grained deep red iron oxide clays were preferred during the Gravettian and Magdalenian, while the Aurignacian layers contain a broader array of colours and textures. Furthermore, numerous other artefacts such as faunal elements, personal ornaments, shells, and an ochre grindstone further strengthen the conclusion that ochre behaviours were well established during the onset of the Aurignacian and subsequently flourished throughout the Upper Palaeolithic at Hohle Fels cave.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C. Velliky
- Institut für Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät, Tübingen, Germany
- Archaeology/Centre for Rock-Art Research and Management, M257, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA, Australia
| | - Martin Porr
- Archaeology/Centre for Rock-Art Research and Management, M257, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA, Australia
- Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, ROCEEH—The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicholas J. Conard
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology & Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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18
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Marcaida I, Maguregui M, Morillas H, Prieto-Taboada N, de Vallejuelo SFO, Veneranda M, Madariaga JM, Martellone A, De Nigris B, Osanna M. In situ non-invasive characterization of the composition of Pompeian pigments preserved in their original bowls. Microchem J 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2018.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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19
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Hoffmann DL, Angelucci DE, Villaverde V, Zapata J, Zilhão J. Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals 115,000 years ago. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaar5255. [PMID: 29507889 PMCID: PMC5833998 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aar5255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Cueva de los Aviones (southeast Spain) is a site of the Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic of Europe. It has yielded ochred and perforated marine shells, red and yellow colorants, and shell containers that feature residues of complex pigmentatious mixtures. Similar finds from the Middle Stone Age of South Africa have been widely accepted as archaeological proxies for symbolic behavior. U-series dating of the flowstone capping the Cueva de los Aviones deposit shows that the symbolic finds made therein are 115,000 to 120,000 years old and predate the earliest known comparable evidence associated with modern humans by 20,000 to 40,000 years. Given our findings, it is possible that the roots of symbolic material culture may be found among the common ancestor of Neandertals and modern humans, more than half-a-million years ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk L. Hoffmann
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Corresponding author. (D.L.H.); (J. Zilhão)
| | - Diego E. Angelucci
- Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Trento, via Tommaso Gar 14, 38122 Trento, Italy
| | - Valentín Villaverde
- Departament de Prehistòria i d’Arqueologia, Universitat de València, Av. Blasco Ibañez 28, 46010 València, Spain
| | - Josefina Zapata
- Área de Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - João Zilhão
- Departament d‘Història i Arqueologia (Seminari d‘Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques), University of Barcelona, c/ Montalegre 6, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa (UNIARQ), Faculdade de Letras, Campo Grande, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
- Corresponding author. (D.L.H.); (J. Zilhão)
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20
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Gellel AM. The language of spirituality. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S SPIRITUALITY 2018; 23:17-29. [DOI: 10.1080/1364436x.2018.1428790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
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Hodgskiss T, Wadley L. How people used ochre at Rose Cottage Cave, South Africa: Sixty thousand years of evidence from the Middle Stone Age. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0176317. [PMID: 28445491 PMCID: PMC5405984 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe colour, hardness, grain size, geological type and surface modifications of ochre pieces excavated, first by Malan and later by Harper, from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Rose Cottage Cave, 96, 000 to 30, 000 years ago. Soft, bright-red shales are abundant, and most ochre has clayey or silty grain sizes. The post-Howiesons Poort layers contain the most ochre pieces, but the Howiesons Poort layers have the highest frequency of ochre per sediment volume. The pre-Howiesons Poort layers have the highest utilization rate. Use-traces include rubbing, grinding, combined grinding and rubbing, and rare instances of scoring. The processing techniques are proxies for ochre use. Rubbing transfers red ochre powder directly onto soft surfaces, such as human skin, or animal hide. This is appropriate when skin colouring and marking or skin protection (for example from sun, insects or bacteria) is the purpose. Grinding produces ochre powder that can be used for a variety of tasks. It can be mixed with water or other products to create paint, cosmetics or adhesives. Multiple uses of ochre powder and ochre pieces are therefore implied at Rose Cottage and changes through time are apparent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tammy Hodgskiss
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- * E-mail:
| | - Lyn Wadley
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Dimuccio LA, Rodrigues N, Larocca F, Pratas J, Amado AM, de Carvalho LAEB. Geochemical and mineralogical fingerprints to distinguish the exploited ferruginous mineralisations of Grotta della Monaca (Calabria, Italy). SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2017; 173:704-720. [PMID: 27783985 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2016.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2016] [Revised: 09/22/2016] [Accepted: 10/16/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
This study examines the geochemical and mineralogical variations in the ferruginous mineralisations that crop out within Grotta della Monaca, which is considered to be the most striking and best known example of a prehistoric iron mine-cave from the southern Apennines (Calabria, Italy). Previous archaeological research identified three local and distinct ancient exploitation phases of these ferruginous mineralisations: (1) an Upper Palaeolithic phase; (2) a Late Neolithic phase; and (3) a post-Medieval phase. These materials, which have various forms of complex mineralogical admixtures and range in colour from yellow-orange to red and darker brown shades, mainly consist of iron oxides/hydroxides (essentially goethite and lepidocrocite), which are often mixed with subordinate and variable amounts of other matrix components (carbonates, sulphates, arsenates, silicates and organic matter). Such ferruginous mineralisations generally correspond to geochemically heterogeneous massive dyke/vein/mammillary/stratiform facies that are exposed within the local caves along open fractures and inclined bedding planes and that partially cover cave wall niches/notches/pockets and ceiling cupolas/holes. Selected samples/sub-samples are analysed through a multi-technique approach with a handheld portable X-ray Fluorescence, X-ray Diffraction, micro-Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscope (both conventional and attenuated total reflection), which is combined with subsequent multivariate statistical analysis of the elemental concentration data. The geochemical and mineralogical results are used to individualise similar compositional clusters. As expected, the identified groups, each of which has very specific geochemical-mineralogical "fingerprints" and spatial distributions, enable us to identify the sampled ferruginous mineralisations. These specific mineral resources can be compared to similar raw materials that are found in other neighbouring archaeological sites, with obvious implications toward understanding local exploitation strategies through time and the exchanges and kinship networks of these materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Antonio Dimuccio
- Centre of Studies on Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT), Colégio de S. Jerónimo, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal; Centro Regionale di Speleologia "Enzo dei Medici", Via Lucania 3, 87070 Roseto Capo Spulico, CS, Italy.
| | - Nelson Rodrigues
- Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra - Polo II, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Felice Larocca
- Centro Regionale di Speleologia "Enzo dei Medici", Via Lucania 3, 87070 Roseto Capo Spulico, CS, Italy; Gruppo di Ricerca Speleo-Archeologica, University of Bari, Piazza Umberto, 70121 Bari, Italy
| | - João Pratas
- Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra - Polo II, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal; Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana Margarida Amado
- Unidade de I&D "Química-Física Molecular", Department of Chemistry, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Luís A E Batista de Carvalho
- Unidade de I&D "Química-Física Molecular", Department of Chemistry, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal
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Mühlenbeck C, Jacobsen T, Pritsch C, Liebal K. Cultural and Species Differences in Gazing Patterns for Marked and Decorated Objects: A Comparative Eye-Tracking Study. Front Psychol 2017; 8:06. [PMID: 28167923 PMCID: PMC5253367 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Objects from the Middle Paleolithic period colored with ochre and marked with incisions represent the beginning of non-utilitarian object manipulation in different species of the Homo genus. To investigate the visual effects caused by these markings, we compared humans who have different cultural backgrounds (Namibian hunter–gatherers and German city dwellers) to one species of non-human great apes (orangutans) with respect to their perceptions of markings on objects. We used eye-tracking to analyze their fixation patterns and the durations of their fixations on marked and unmarked stones and sticks. In an additional test, humans evaluated the objects regarding their aesthetic preferences. Our hypotheses were that colorful markings help an individual to structure the surrounding world by making certain features of the environment salient, and that aesthetic appreciation should be associated with this structuring. Our results showed that humans fixated on the marked objects longer and used them in the structural processing of the objects and their background, but did not consistently report finding them more beautiful. Orangutans, in contrast, did not distinguish between object and background in their visual processing and did not clearly fixate longer on the markings. Our results suggest that marking behavior is characteristic for humans and evolved as an attention-directing rather than aesthetic benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cordelia Mühlenbeck
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Jacobsen
- Experimental Psychology Unit, Helmut Schmidt University - University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg Hamburg, Germany
| | - Carla Pritsch
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität BerlinBerlin, Germany; Graduate School "Languages of Emotion", Freie Universität BerlinBerlin, Germany
| | - Katja Liebal
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin Berlin, Germany
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Rosso DE, Pitarch Martí A, d’Errico F. Middle Stone Age Ochre Processing and Behavioural Complexity in the Horn of Africa: Evidence from Porc-Epic Cave, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0164793. [PMID: 27806067 PMCID: PMC5091854 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 09/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Ochre is a common feature at Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites and has often been interpreted as a proxy for the origin of modern behaviour. However, few ochre processing tools, ochre containers, and ochre-stained artefacts from MSA contexts have been studied in detail within a theoretical framework aimed at inferring the technical steps involved in the acquisition, production and use of these artefacts. Here we analyse 21 ochre processing tools, i.e. upper and lower grindstones, and two ochre-stained artefacts from the MSA layers of Porc-Epic Cave, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, dated to ca. 40 cal kyr BP. These tools, and a large proportion of the 4213 ochre fragments found at the site, were concentrated in an area devoted to ochre processing. Lower grindstones are made of a variety of raw materials, some of which are not locally available. Traces of use indicate that different techniques were employed to process ochre. Optical microscopy, XRD, μ-Raman spectroscopy, and SEM-EDS analyses of residues preserved on worn areas of artefacts show that different types of ferruginous rocks were processed in order to produce ochre powder of different coarseness and shades. A round stone bearing no traces of having been used to process ochre is half covered with residues as if it had been dipped in a liquid ochered medium to paint the object or to use it as a stamp to apply pigment to a soft material. We argue that the ochre reduction sequences identified at Porc-Epic Cave reflect a high degree of behavioural complexity, and represent ochre use, which was probably devoted to a variety of functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Eugenia Rosso
- UMR-CNRS 5199 de la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
- Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP), Departament de Prehistòria, Història Antiga i Arqueologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Africa Pitarch Martí
- UMR-CNRS 5199 de la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
- Grup de Recerca Aplicada al Patrimoni Cultural (GRAPAC), Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Francesco d’Errico
- UMR-CNRS 5199 de la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Surrallés A. On contrastive perception and ineffability: assessing sensory experience without colour terms in an Amazonian society. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1467-9655.12499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Surrallés
- Laboratoire d'anthropologie sociale, Collège de France; French National Research Centre (CNRS), Collège de France Laboratory of Social Anthropology; 52, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005 Paris France
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Wu Y, Guo X, Wang W, Chen X, Zhao Z, Xia X, Yang Y. Red pigments and Boraginaceae leaves in mortuary ritual of late Neolithic China: A case study of Shengedaliang site. Microsc Res Tech 2016; 80:231-238. [DOI: 10.1002/jemt.22791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2016] [Revised: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100044 China
| | - XiaoNing Guo
- Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology; Xi'an 710054 China
| | - WeiLin Wang
- Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology; Xi'an 710054 China
| | - XiangLong Chen
- Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Beijing 100710 China
| | - Zhijun Zhao
- Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Beijing 100710 China
| | - Xiumin Xia
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100044 China
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100049 China
| | - YiMin Yang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100044 China
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100049 China
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Hubbard TD, Murray IA, Bisson WH, Sullivan AP, Sebastian A, Perry GH, Jablonski NG, Perdew GH. Divergent Ah Receptor Ligand Selectivity during Hominin Evolution. Mol Biol Evol 2016; 33:2648-58. [PMID: 27486223 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msw143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We have identified a fixed nonsynonymous sequence difference between humans (Val381; derived variant) and Neandertals (Ala381; ancestral variant) in the ligand-binding domain of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) gene. In an exome sequence analysis of four Neandertal and Denisovan individuals compared with nine modern humans, there are only 90 total nucleotide sites genome-wide for which archaic hominins are fixed for the ancestral nonsynonymous variant and the modern humans are fixed for the derived variant. Of those sites, only 27, including Val381 in the AHR, also have no reported variability in the human dbSNP database, further suggesting that this highly conserved functional variant is a rare event. Functional analysis of the amino acid variant Ala381 within the AHR carried by Neandertals and nonhuman primates indicate enhanced polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) binding, DNA binding capacity, and AHR mediated transcriptional activity compared with the human AHR. Also relative to human AHR, the Neandertal AHR exhibited 150-1000 times greater sensitivity to induction of Cyp1a1 and Cyp1b1 expression by PAHs (e.g., benzo(a)pyrene). The resulting CYP1A1/CYP1B1 enzymes are responsible for PAH first pass metabolism, which can result in the generation of toxic intermediates and perhaps AHR-associated toxicities. In contrast, the human AHR retains the ancestral sensitivity observed in primates to nontoxic endogenous AHR ligands (e.g., indole, indoxyl sulfate). Our findings reveal that a functionally significant change in the AHR occurred uniquely in humans, relative to other primates, that would attenuate the response to many environmental pollutants, including chemicals present in smoke from fire use during cooking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Troy D Hubbard
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Pennsylvania State University
| | - Iain A Murray
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Pennsylvania State University
| | - William H Bisson
- Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University
| | | | | | - George H Perry
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University
| | | | - Gary H Perdew
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, Pennsylvania State University
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Langley MC, O'Connor S, Piotto E. 42,000-year-old worked and pigment-stained Nautilus shell from Jerimalai (Timor-Leste): Evidence for an early coastal adaptation in ISEA. J Hum Evol 2016; 97:1-16. [PMID: 27457541 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 04/22/2016] [Accepted: 04/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we describe worked and pigment-stained Nautilus shell artefacts recovered from Jerimalai, Timor-Leste. Two of these artefacts come from contexts dating to between 38,000 and 42,000 cal. BP (calibrated years before present), and exhibit manufacturing traces (drilling, pressure flaking, grinding), as well as red colourant staining. Through describing more complete Nautilus shell ornaments from younger levels from this same site (>15,900, 9500, and 5000 cal. BP), we demonstrate that those dating to the initial occupation period of Jerimalai are of anthropogenic origin. The identification of such early shell working examples of pelagic shell in Island Southeast Asia not only adds to our growing understanding of the importance of marine resources to the earliest modern human communities in this region, but also indicates that a remarkably enduring shell working tradition was enacted in this area of the globe. Additionally, these artefacts provide the first material culture evidence that the inhabitants of Jerimalai were not only exploiting coastal resources for their nutritional requirements, but also incorporating these materials into their social technologies, and by extension, their social systems. In other words, we argue that the people of Jerimalai were already practicing a developed coastal adaptation by at least 42,000 cal. BP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle C Langley
- Archaeology & Natural History, School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Australia.
| | - Sue O'Connor
- Archaeology & Natural History, School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Australia.
| | - Elena Piotto
- Archaeology & Natural History, School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Australia.
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30
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Mirazón Lahr M. The shaping of human diversity: filters, boundaries and transitions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150241. [PMID: 27298471 PMCID: PMC4920297 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of modern humans was a complex process, involving major changes in levels of diversity through time. The fossils and stone tools that record the spatial distribution of our species in the past form the backbone of our evolutionary history, and one that allows us to explore the different processes-cultural and biological-that acted to shape the evolution of different populations in the face of major climate change. Those processes created a complex palimpsest of similarities and differences, with outcomes that were at times accelerated by sharp demographic and geographical fluctuations. The result is that the population ancestral to all modern humans did not look or behave like people alive today. This has generated questions regarding the evolution of human universal characters, as well as the nature and timing of major evolutionary events in the history of Homo sapiens The paucity of African fossils remains a serious stumbling block for exploring some of these issues. However, fossil and archaeological discoveries increasingly clarify important aspects of our past, while breakthroughs from genomics and palaeogenomics have revealed aspects of the demography of Late Quaternary Eurasian hominin groups and their interactions, as well as those between foragers and farmers. This paper explores the nature and timing of key moments in the evolution of human diversity, moments in which population collapse followed by differential expansion of groups set the conditions for transitional periods. Five transitions are identified (i) at the origins of the species, 240-200 ka; (ii) at the time of the first major expansions, 130-100 ka; (iii) during a period of dispersals, 70-50 ka; (iv) across a phase of local/regional structuring of diversity, 45-25 ka; and (v) during a phase of significant extinction of hunter-gatherer diversity and expansion of particular groups, such as farmers and later societies (the Holocene Filter), 15-0 ka.This article is part of the themed issue 'Major transitions in human evolution'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Mirazón Lahr
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK
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31
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Tributsch H. Ochre Bathing of the Bearded Vulture: A Bio-Mimetic Model for Early Humans towards Smell Prevention and Health. Animals (Basel) 2016; 6:E7. [PMID: 26784238 PMCID: PMC4730124 DOI: 10.3390/ani6010007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Revised: 12/31/2015] [Accepted: 01/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Since primordial times, vultures have been competing with man for animal carcasses. One of these vultures, the once widespread bearded vulture ( Gypaetus barbatus ), has the habit of bathing its polluted feathers and skin in red iron oxide - ochre - tainted water puddles. Why? Primitive man may have tried to find out and may have discovered its advantages. Red ochre, which has accompanied human rituals and everyday life for more than 100,000 years, is not just a simple red paint for decoration or a symbol for blood. As modern experiments demonstrate, it is active in sunlight producing aggressive chemical species. They can kill viruses and bacteria and convert smelly organic substances into volatile neutral carbon dioxide gas. In this way, ochre can in sunlight sterilize and clean the skin to provide health and comfort and make it scentless, a definitive advantage for nomadic meat hunters. This research thus also demonstrates a sanitary reason for the vulture's habit of bathing in red ochre mud. Prehistoric people have therefore included ochre use into their rituals, especially into those in relation to birth and death. Significant ritual impulses during evolution of man may thus have developed bio-mimetically, inspired from the habits of a vulture. It is discussed how this health strategy could be developed to a modern standard helping to fight antibiotics-resistant bacteria in hospitals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helmut Tributsch
- Bio-Mimetics Program, Carinthia University for Applied Sciences, Europastrasse 4, Villach 9524, Austria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curtis W. Marean
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-2402;
- Faculty of Science, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 6031, South Africa
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Rifkin RF, Dayet L, Queffelec A, Summers B, Lategan M, d’Errico F. Evaluating the Photoprotective Effects of Ochre on Human Skin by In Vivo SPF Assessment: Implications for Human Evolution, Adaptation and Dispersal. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0136090. [PMID: 26353012 PMCID: PMC4564224 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2015] [Accepted: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Archaeological indicators of cognitively modern behaviour become increasingly prevalent during the African Middle Stone Age (MSA). Although the exploitation of ochre is viewed as a key feature of the emergence of modern human behaviour, the uses to which ochre and ochre-based mixtures were put remain ambiguous. Here we present the results of an experimental study exploring the efficacy of ochre as a topical photoprotective compound. This is achieved through the in vivo calculation of the sun protection factor (SPF) values of ochre samples obtained from Ovahimba women (Kunene Region, Northern Namibia) and the Palaeozoic Bokkeveld Group deposits of the Cape Supergroup (Western Cape Province, South Africa). We employ visible spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and granulometric analyses to characterise ochre samples. The capacity of ochre to inhibit the susceptibility of humans to the harmful effects of exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is confirmed and the mechanisms implicated in the efficacy of ochre as a sunscreen identified. It is posited that the habitual application of ochre may have represented a crucial innovation for MSA humans by limiting the adverse effects of ultraviolet exposure. This may have facilitated the colonisation of geographic regions largely unfavourable to the constitutive skin colour of newly arriving populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riaan F. Rifkin
- Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture and Religion, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Laure Dayet
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Alain Queffelec
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Beverley Summers
- Photobiology Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, University of Limpopo, Medunsa, South Africa
| | - Marlize Lategan
- Photobiology Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, University of Limpopo, Medunsa, South Africa
| | - Francesco d’Errico
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
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Sajó IE, Kovács J, Fitzsimmons KE, Jáger V, Lengyel G, Viola B, Talamo S, Hublin JJ. Core-Shell Processing of Natural Pigment: Upper Palaeolithic Red Ochre from Lovas, Hungary. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0131762. [PMID: 26147808 PMCID: PMC4509578 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Ochre is the common archaeological term for prehistoric pigments. It is applied to a range of uses, from ritual burials to cave art to medications. While a substantial number of Palaeolithic paint mining pits have been identified across Europe, the link between ochre use and provenance, and their antiquity, has never yet been identified. Here we characterise the mineralogical signature of core-shell processed ochre from the Palaeolithic paint mining pits near Lovas in Hungary, using a novel integration of petrographic and mineralogical techniques. We present the first evidence for core-shell processed, natural pigment that was prepared by prehistoric people from hematitic red ochre. This involved combining the darker red outer shell with the less intensely coloured core to efficiently produce an economical, yet still strongly coloured, paint. We demonstrate the antiquity of the site as having operated between 14–13 kcal BP, during the Epigravettian period. This is based on new radiocarbon dating of bone artefacts associated with the quarry site. The dating results indicate the site to be the oldest known evidence for core-shell pigment processing. We show that the ochre mined at Lovas was exported from the site based on its characteristic signature at other archaeological sites in the region. Our discovery not only provides a methodological framework for future characterisation of ochre pigments, but also provides the earliest known evidence for “value-adding” of products for trade.
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Affiliation(s)
- István E. Sajó
- Environmental Analytical and Geoanalytical Research Group, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - János Kovács
- Environmental Analytical and Geoanalytical Research Group, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Department of Geology and Meteorology, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- * E-mail: (JK); (KEF)
| | - Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail: (JK); (KEF)
| | - Viktor Jáger
- Environmental Analytical and Geoanalytical Research Group, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Department of Geology and Meteorology, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - György Lengyel
- Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, Institute of History, University of Miskolc, Miskolc-Egyetemváros, Hungary
| | - Bence Viola
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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von Petzinger G, Nowell A. A place in time: situating Chauvet within the long chronology of symbolic behavioral development. J Hum Evol 2014; 74:37-54. [PMID: 25087087 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.02.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2012] [Revised: 01/13/2014] [Accepted: 02/18/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Since the discovery of the Grotte Chauvet (Ardèche, France) in the mid-1990s, there has been a debate regarding the accuracy of assigning this site to the Aurignacian period. The main argument stems from a perceived lack of agreement between the radiocarbon age of the imagery (>32,000 years BP [before present]) and its stylistic complexity and technical sophistication, which some believe are more typical of the later Upper Paleolithic. In this paper we first review the evidence for symbolic behavior among modern humans during the Aurignacian in order to explore the question of whether Chauvet's images are anachronistic. Then, using a database of non-figurative signs found in Paleolithic parietal art, we undertake a detailed comparison between Chauvet's corpus of signs and those found in other French Upper Paleolithic caves. While we conclude that there is substantial evidence to support an Aurignacian date for Grotte Chauvet, we also suggest that it may be time to revisit some of the cultural boundaries that are currently in use in Paleolithic archaeology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Genevieve von Petzinger
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3050, STN CSC, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 3P5.
| | - April Nowell
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3050, STN CSC, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 3P5.
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36
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Zaidner Y, Frumkin A, Porat N, Tsatskin A, Yeshurun R, Weissbrod L. A series of Mousterian occupations in a new type of site: The Nesher Ramla karst depression, Israel. J Hum Evol 2014; 66:1-17. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2013] [Revised: 05/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Sarig R, Slon V, Abbas J, May H, Shpack N, Vardimon AD, Hershkovitz I. Malocclusion in early anatomically modern human: a reflection on the etiology of modern dental misalignment. PLoS One 2013; 8:e80771. [PMID: 24278319 PMCID: PMC3835570 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2013] [Accepted: 10/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Malocclusions are common in modern populations. Yet, as the study of occlusion requires an almost intact dentition in both the maxilla and mandible, searching for the ultimate cause of malocclusion is a challenge: relatively little ancient material is available for research on occlusal states. The Qafzeh 9 skull is unique, as its preserved dentition allowed us to investigate the presence and manifestations of malocclusion. The aim of this study was thus to examine the occlusal condition in the Qafzeh 9 specimen in light of modern knowledge regarding the etiology of malocclusion. We revealed a pathologic occlusion in the Qafzeh 9 skull that probably originated in the early developmental stage of the dentition, and was aggravated by forces applied by mastication. When arch continuity is interrupted due to misalignment of teeth as in this case, force transmission is not equal on both sides, causing intra-arch outcomes such as mesialization of the teeth, midline deviation, rotations and the aggravation of crowding. All are evident in the Qafzeh 9 skull: the midline deviates to the left; the incisors rotate mesio-buccally; the left segment is constricted; the left first molar is buccally positioned and the left premolars palatally tilted. The inter-arch evaluation revealed anterior cross bite with functional shift that might affect force transmission and bite force. In conclusion, the findings of the current study suggest that malocclusion of developmental origin was already present in early anatomically modern humans (AMH) (the present case being the oldest known case, dated to ca. 100,000 years); that there is no basis to the notion that early AMH had a better adjustment between teeth and jaw size; and that jaw-teeth size discrepancy could be found in prehistoric populations and is not a recent phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Sarig
- Department of Orthodontics, Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
- *
| | - Viviane Slon
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
| | - Janan Abbas
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
| | - Hila May
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
| | - Nir Shpack
- Department of Orthodontics, Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Alexander Dan Vardimon
- Department of Orthodontics, Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Israel Hershkovitz
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
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Fiorenza L, Kullmer O. Dental wear and cultural behavior in Middle Paleolithic humans from the Near East. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 152:107-17. [PMID: 23904240 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2012] [Accepted: 06/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs) may have lived in close proximity in the Near East region during Middle Paleolithic times. Although functional morphological analyses suggest a marked behavioral contrast between these two human groups, new dental micro- and macro-wear studies, together with new archaeological data, have revealed some similarities in ecology and dietary habits. In this study, we analyze the tooth wear patterns of Neanderthals and AMH from Middle Paleolithic sites of Israel and Northern Iraq, using the Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis (OFA) method to virtually reconstruct the jaw movements responsible for the creation of the occlusal wear areas. We particularly focus on para-facets, a distinctive type of wear which has been previously described in the dentition of historic and modern hunter-gatherers. The analysis reveals a similarity in para-facet frequency between early Near Eastern Neanderthals and AMH, and a significant difference with other Pleistocene human groups. The absence of antagonist occlusal contacts in the lower teeth and the occlusal compass analysis suggest that para-facet formation is not related to normal mastication but to nonmasticatory activities. Thus, the identification of these nonmasticatory wear areas on the molars of early Near Eastern Neanderthals and AMH may indicate analogous tooth-tool uses for daily task activities. These may have emerged independently or could be interpreted as indirect evidence of cultural interactions between these two groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Fiorenza
- Department of Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia
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Non-utilitarian lithic objects from the European Paleolithic. ARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY OF EURASIA 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.aeae.2012.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Henshilwood CS, d'Errico F, van Niekerk KL, Coquinot Y, Jacobs Z, Lauritzen SE, Menu M, García-Moreno R. A 100,000-year-old ochre-processing workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Science 2011; 334:219-22. [PMID: 21998386 DOI: 10.1126/science.1211535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 343] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The conceptual ability to source, combine, and store substances that enhance technology or social practices represents a benchmark in the evolution of complex human cognition. Excavations in 2008 at Blombos Cave, South Africa, revealed a processing workshop where a liquefied ochre-rich mixture was produced and stored in two Haliotis midae (abalone) shells 100,000 years ago. Ochre, bone, charcoal, grindstones, and hammerstones form a composite part of this production toolkit. The application of the mixture is unknown, but possibilities include decoration and skin protection.
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Salazar D, Jackson D, Guendon JL, Salinas H, Morata D, Figueroa V, Manríquez G, Castro V. Early Evidence (ca. 12,000 BP) for Iron Oxide Mining on the Pacific Coast of South America. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1086/659426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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44
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Rots V, Van Peer P, Vermeersch PM. Aspects of tool production, use, and hafting in Palaeolithic assemblages from Northeast Africa. J Hum Evol 2011; 60:637-64. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2008] [Revised: 10/05/2010] [Accepted: 10/06/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Thompson JC, Henshilwood CS. Taphonomic analysis of the Middle Stone Age larger mammal faunal assemblage from Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2011; 60:746-67. [PMID: 21470662 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2009] [Revised: 06/10/2010] [Accepted: 01/13/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
A detailed taphonomic analysis is reported for a sample of the larger mammalian faunal assemblage (>4.5 kg live body weight) from Blombos Cave. The analysis provides an assessment of human involvement in the accumulation and modification of the faunal assemblage, and precedes equally detailed analyses and separate reports of Middle Stone Age (MSA) butchery, transport, and hunting behaviour. At Blombos, there are clear differences in the relative abundances of ungulate body size classes, with the lower MSA phases (upper/lower M2 and M3) showing a high representation of size 1 ungulates relative to the most recent MSA phase (M1). The bones from the earliest MSA phase (M3) have not undergone much post-depositional fragmentation, in contrast to fragments from more recent phases (M1 and upper M2). Much of this variability can be attributed to more burning activity and trampling during M1 and upper M2, which could indicate more intensive occupation. Bone surfaces are variably preserved, with high levels of exfoliation in the most recent two phases. Surface modification analyses revealed high proportions of human modification throughout the sequence, indicating that MSA humans were responsible for accumulating most of the larger mammals. After discard, the bones were modified by scavenging carnivores, leading to a moderate amount of density-mediated destruction and tooth-marking. Carnivores independently accumulated some of the smaller ungulates, mainly in the form of partially-digested remains. Raptorial birds are not implicated as major faunal accumulators. The results from Blombos are directly comparable with analogous datasets from two other sites in the Western Cape (Pinnacle Point Cave 13B and Die Kelders Cave 1). Such comparisons demonstrate that MSA faunal assemblages from nearby coastal sites have complex and different taphonomic histories both within and between sites. Because the human occupants were a major part of these processes, MSA subsistence behaviour and site use was also quite variable over time and space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica C Thompson
- School of Social Science, Archaeology Program, The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia.
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Maher LA, Stock JT, Finney S, Heywood JJN, Miracle PT, Banning EB. A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan). PLoS One 2011; 6:e15815. [PMID: 21298094 PMCID: PMC3027631 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0015815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2010] [Accepted: 12/02/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
New human burials from northern Jordan provide important insights into the appearance of cemeteries and the nature of human-animal relationships within mortuary contexts during the Epipalaeolithic period (c. 23,000-11,600 cal BP) in the Levant, reinforcing a socio-ideological relationship that goes beyond predator-prey. Previous work suggests that archaeological features indicative of social complexity occur suddenly during the latest Epipalaeolithic phase, the Natufian (c. 14,500-11,600 cal BP). These features include sedentism, cemeteries, architecture, food production, including animal domestication, and burials with elaborate mortuary treatments. Our findings from the pre-Natufian (Middle Epipalaeolithic) cemetery of 'Uyun al-Hammam demonstrate that joint human-animal mortuary practices appear earlier in the Epipalaeolithic. We describe the earliest human-fox burial in the Near East, where the remains of dogs have been found associated with human burials at a number of Natufian sites. This is the first time that a fox has been documented in association with human interments pre-dating the Natufian and with a particular suite of grave goods. Analysis of the human and animal bones and their associated artefacts provides critical data on the nature and timing of these newly-developing relationships between people and animals prior to the appearance of domesticated dogs in the Natufian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa A Maher
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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Hale CA. What about Being Red? Encounters with the Color of Jung's Red Book. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES-A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF JUNGIAN THOUGHT 2010. [DOI: 10.1080/00332925.2010.524113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Marean CW. Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (Western Cape Province, South Africa) in context: The Cape Floral kingdom, shellfish, and modern human origins. J Hum Evol 2010; 59:425-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 237] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2009] [Revised: 06/25/2010] [Accepted: 03/19/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Watts I. The pigments from Pinnacle Point Cave 13B, Western Cape, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2010; 59:392-411. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2008] [Revised: 04/09/2010] [Accepted: 05/21/2010] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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