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Tejero JM, Cheronet O, Gelabert P, Zagorc B, Álvarez-Fernández E, Arias P, Averbouh A, Bar-Oz G, Barzilai O, Belfer-Cohen A, Bosch MD, Brück F, Cueto M, Dockner M, Fullola JM, Gárate D, Giannakoulis M, González C, Jakeli N, Mangado X, Meshveliani T, Neruda P, Nigst P, Ontañón R, Shemer M, Šimková PG, Tapia J, Sánchez de la Torre M, Schwab C, Weber G, Pinhasi R. Cervidae antlers exploited to manufacture prehistoric tools and hunting implements as a reliable source of ancient DNA. Heliyon 2024; 10:e31858. [PMID: 38845985 PMCID: PMC11154607 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2023] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Antler is one of the primary animal raw materials exploited for technical purposes by the hunter-gatherer groups of the Eurasian Upper Palaeolithic (UP) all over the ecological range of deers, and beyond. It was exhaustively employed to produce one of the most critical tools for the survival of the UP societies: hunting weapons. However, antler implements can be made from diverse deer taxa, with different ecological requirements and ethological behaviours. Identifying the antler's origin at a taxonomic level is thus essential in improving our knowledge of humans' functional, practical and symbolic choices, as well as the human-animal interface during Prehistoric times. Nevertheless, palaeogenetics analyses have focused mainly on bone and teeth, with genetic studies of antler generally focused on modern deer conservation. Here we present the results of the first whole mitochondrial genome ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis by means of in-solution hybridisation capture of antlers from pre-Holocene archaeological contexts. We analysed a set of 50 Palaeolithic and Neolithic (c. 34-8ka) antler and osseous objects from South-Western Europe, Central Europe, South-Western Asia and the Caucasus. We successfully obtained aDNA, allowing us to identify the exploited taxa and demonstrate the archaeological relevance of those finds. Moreover, as most of the antlers were sampled using a minimally-invasive method, further analyses (morphometric, technical, genetic, radiometric and more) remain possible on these objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- José-Miguel Tejero
- Seminari D'Estudis I Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP), Dep. Història i Arqueologia, University of Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Olivia Cheronet
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Pere Gelabert
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
- Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal I D'Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Brina Zagorc
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Pablo Arias
- Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria (IIIPC), (Universidad de Cantabria-Gobierno de Cantabria-Santander Universidades), Santander, Spain
| | - Aline Averbouh
- CNRS-MNHN UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnement. Muséum National D’Histoire Naturelle, Département « Homme et Environnement » & Institut INEE CNRS « Environnement et écologie », Paris, France
| | - Guy Bar-Oz
- Laboratory of Archaeozoology, School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - Omry Barzilai
- The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
| | - Anna Belfer-Cohen
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marjolein D. Bosch
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
- Austrian Archaeological Institute – Prehistory Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Florian Brück
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Marián Cueto
- Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Martin Dockner
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Josep Maria Fullola
- Seminari D'Estudis I Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP), Dep. Història i Arqueologia, University of Barcelona, Spain
- Institut D'Arqueologia de La Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Spain
| | - Diego Gárate
- Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria (IIIPC), (Universidad de Cantabria-Gobierno de Cantabria-Santander Universidades), Santander, Spain
| | | | - Cynthia González
- Seminari D'Estudis I Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP), Dep. Història i Arqueologia, University of Barcelona, Spain
- Institut D'Arqueologia de La Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Spain
| | | | - Xavier Mangado
- Seminari D'Estudis I Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP), Dep. Història i Arqueologia, University of Barcelona, Spain
- Institut D'Arqueologia de La Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Spain
| | | | - Petr Neruda
- Moravské Zemské Museum, Historické Muzeum, Ústav Anthropos, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Philip Nigst
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
- Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Roberto Ontañón
- Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria (IIIPC), (Universidad de Cantabria-Gobierno de Cantabria-Santander Universidades), Santander, Spain
- Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria (MUPAC), Santander, Spain
| | - Maayan Shemer
- The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
- Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Petra G. Šimková
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Jesús Tapia
- Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi, Donostia, Spain
| | - Marta Sánchez de la Torre
- Seminari D'Estudis I Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP), Dep. Història i Arqueologia, University of Barcelona, Spain
- Institut D'Arqueologia de La Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Spain
| | - Catherine Schwab
- Musée D’Archéologie Nationale et Domaine National de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
| | - Gerhard Weber
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Ron Pinhasi
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Austria
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Doyon L, Faure T, Sanz M, Daura J, Cassard L, d’Errico F. A 39,600-year-old leather punch board from Canyars, Gavà, Spain. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg0834. [PMID: 37043572 PMCID: PMC10096582 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg0834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Puncture alignments are found on Palaeolithic carvings, pendants, and other fully shaped osseous artifacts. These marks were interpreted as abstract decorations, system of notations, and features present on human and animal depictions. Here, we create an experimental framework for the analysis and interpretation of human-made punctures and apply it to a highly intriguing, punctured bone fragment found at Canyars, an Early Upper Palaeolithic coastal site from Catalonia, Spain. Changes of tool and variation in the arrangement and orientation of punctures are consistent with the interpretation of this object as the earliest-known leather work punch board recording six episodes of hide pricking, one of which was to produce a linear seam. Our results indicate that Aurignacian hunters-gatherers used this technology to produce leather works and probably tailored clothes well before the introduction of bone eyed needles in Europe 15,000 years later.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc Doyon
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5199 PACEA, Bât. B2, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS50023, Pessac 33600, France
- Shandong University, Institute of Cultural Heritage, Jimo-Binhai Highway 72, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Thomas Faure
- Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux, École Nationale Supérieure de Cognitique, 109 avenue Raoul, Talence Cedex 33405, France
| | - Montserrat Sanz
- Universitat de Barcelona, Grup de Recerca del Quaternari (GRQ-SERP), C/Montalegre 6-8, Barcelona 08001, Spain
| | - Joan Daura
- Universitat de Barcelona, Grup de Recerca del Quaternari (GRQ-SERP), C/Montalegre 6-8, Barcelona 08001, Spain
| | - Laura Cassard
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5199 PACEA, Bât. B2, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS50023, Pessac 33600, France
| | - Francesco d’Errico
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5199 PACEA, Bât. B2, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS50023, Pessac 33600, France
- University of Bergen, SFF Center for Early Sapiens Behavior (SapienCE), Øysteinsgate 3, Posboks 7805, Bergen 5020, Norway
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