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van der Sluis LG, McGrath K, Thil F, Cersoy S, Pétillon JM, Zazzo A. Identification and tentative removal of collagen glue in Palaeolithic worked bone objects: implications for ZooMS and radiocarbon dating. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22119. [PMID: 38092830 PMCID: PMC10719399 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49242-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Collagen glue has been used for nearly two centuries to consolidate bone material, although its prevalence in museum collections is only now becoming visible. Identifying and removing collagen glue is crucial before the execution of any geochemical or molecular analyses. Palaeolithic bone objects from old excavations intended for radiocarbon dating were first analysed using ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) to identify the animal species, however peaks characteristic of both cattle and whale were discovered. Two extraction methods for ZooMS were tested to identify the authentic animal species of these objects, which revealed that these were originally whale bone objects that had been consolidated with cattle collagen glue. This is the first time animal collagen glue has been identified in archaeological remains with ZooMS, illustrating again the incredible versatility of this technique. Another technique, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy in Attenuated Total Reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR), was also tested if it could rapidly identify the presence of collagen glue in archaeological bone material, which was not the case. Two other cleaning methods were tested to remove bone glue contamination prior to radiocarbon dating, along with two modified collagen extraction methods for ZooMS. These methods were applied to bone blank samples (FmC = 0.0031 ± 0.0002, (n = 219), 47 336 ± 277 yr BP) that were experimentally consolidated with collagen glue and to the Palaeolithic bone material (ca. 15 000 and 12 000 yr BP). The experimental bone blanks produced excellent 14C ages, suggesting the cleaning methods were successful, however the 14C ages for some of the Palaeolithic material remained too young considering their contextual age, suggesting that the collagen glue contamination had most likely cross-linked to the authentic collagen molecule. More research is needed in order to gain a deeper understanding of the occurrence and elimination of cross-linked collagen-based glues in material from museum collections.
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Affiliation(s)
- L G van der Sluis
- UMR 7209, Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
| | - K McGrath
- Department of Prehistory and Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - F Thil
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL UMR 8212, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - S Cersoy
- Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation (CRC), UAR 3224, CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - J-M Pétillon
- Travaux et Recherches Archéologiques sur les Cultures, les Espaces et les Sociétés (TRACES) UMR 5608, CNRS, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France
| | - A Zazzo
- UMR 7209, Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
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Lewis JP, Ryves DB, Rasmussen P, Olsen J, van der Sluis LG, Reimer PJ, Knudsen KL, McGowan S, Anderson NJ, Juggins S. Reply to "Marine abundance and its prehistoric past in the Baltic". Nat Commun 2022; 13:2824. [PMID: 35595731 PMCID: PMC9123011 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30151-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- J P Lewis
- Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
| | - D B Ryves
- Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
| | - P Rasmussen
- Environmental Archaeology and Materials Science, National Museum of Denmark, Brede Værk, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - J Olsen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - L G van der Sluis
- School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - P J Reimer
- School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - K-L Knudsen
- Department of Earth Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - S McGowan
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.,Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherland Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - N J Anderson
- Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
| | - S Juggins
- School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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Lewis JP, Ryves DB, Rasmussen P, Olsen J, van der Sluis LG, Reimer PJ, Knudsen KL, McGowan S, Anderson NJ, Juggins S. Marine resource abundance drove pre-agricultural population increase in Stone Age Scandinavia. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2006. [PMID: 32332739 PMCID: PMC7181652 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15621-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
How climate and ecology affect key cultural transformations remains debated in the context of long-term socio-cultural development because of spatially and temporally disjunct climate and archaeological records. The introduction of agriculture triggered a major population increase across Europe. However, in Southern Scandinavia it was preceded by ~500 years of sustained population growth. Here we show that this growth was driven by long-term enhanced marine production conditioned by the Holocene Thermal Maximum, a time of elevated temperature, sea level and salinity across coastal waters. We identify two periods of increased marine production across trophic levels (P1 7600–7100 and P2 6400–5900 cal. yr BP) that coincide with markedly increased mollusc collection and accumulation of shell middens, indicating greater marine resource availability. Between ~7600–5900 BP, intense exploitation of a warmer, more productive marine environment by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers drove cultural development, including maritime technological innovation, and from ca. 6400–5900 BP, underpinned a ~four-fold human population growth. How the development of human societies is influenced through their ecological environment and climatic conditions has been the subject of intensive debate. Here, the authors present multi-proxy data from southern Scandinavia which suggests that pre-agricultural population growth there was likely influenced by enhanced marine production.
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Affiliation(s)
- J P Lewis
- Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK.
| | - D B Ryves
- Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK
| | - P Rasmussen
- Environmental Archaeology and Materials Science, National Museum of Denmark, Brede Værk, I.C. Modewegsvej, DK-2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - J Olsen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - L G van der Sluis
- School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK
| | - P J Reimer
- School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK
| | - K-L Knudsen
- Department of Earth Science, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - S McGowan
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RG, UK
| | - N J Anderson
- Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK
| | - S Juggins
- School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
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