Neandertals and early modern humans Pyrotechnology - FLAME (traces of Fire: Learning from Archaeological Microstratigraphic Evidence)

Funder

Organizational Unit

Publications

The evolution of pyrotechnology in the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe

Publication . Murphree, William; Aldeias, Vera

Pyrotechnology, the ability for hominins to use fire as a tool, is considered to be one of the most important behavioural adaptations in human evolution. While several studies have focused on identifying the emergence of fire use and later Middle Palaeolithic Neanderthal combustion features, far fewer have focused on modern human fire use. As a result, we currently have more data characterizing the hominin fire use prior to 50,000 years before present (BP), than we do for Upper Palaeolithic of Europe. Here we review the available data on Upper Palaeolithic fire evidence between 48,000 and 13,000 years BP to understand the evolution of modern human pyrotechnology. Our results suggest regional clustering of feature types during the Aurignacian and further demonstrate a significant change in modern human fire use, namely in terms of the intensification and structural variation between 35,000 and 28,000 years BP. This change also corresponds to the development and spread of the Gravettian technocomplex throughout Europe and may correspond to a shift in the perception of fire. Additionally, we also show a significant lack of available high-resolution data on combustion features during the height of last glacial maximum. Furthermore, we highlight the need for more research into the effects of syn- and post-depositional processes on archaeological combustion materials and a need for more standardization of descriptions in the published literature. Overall, our review shows a significant and complex developmental process for Upper Palaeolithic fire use which in many ways mirrors the behavioural evolution of modern humans seen in other archaeological mediums.

2022-10Journal article

Open Access

Simply red? A systematic colour‐based method for identifying archaeological fires

Publication . Ferro‐Vázquez, Cruz; Mallol, Carolina; Aldeias, Vera

The identification and characterization of hearths is crucial for reconstructing the history of fire use and pyrotechnology. In addition to ashes and charcoals, an active fire will also produce alterations of the underlying substrate to varying degrees. To date, however, few studies have addressed how the characteristics of burned substrates relate to pyrotechnology. Here, we systematize the use of colour to identify burnt sediments by performing quantitative colour measurements in the CIELab system of experimentally heated soils and sediments. The experimental design included different temperatures, different heating durations and substrates with varied chemical and mineralogical compositions, including naturally red soils and sediments with different degrees of pedogenesis. The measured colours were analysed by multivariate statistics for diagnosing whether sediments have been heated or not, and to which temperature. We achieved an accurate identification of heated versus unheated samples independently of their composition. The determination of the temperature of heating required prior knowledge of basic mineralogy and chemical properties in the targeted sediments (silicate or carbonate material, total and secondary Fe, Ca contents and the amount and kind of organic matter). The algorithm developed can be applied to recognize burned layers and estimate burning temperatures in archaeological contexts.

2021Journal article

Restricted

Microstratigraphic preservation of ancient faunal and hominin DNA in pleistocene cave sediments

Publication . Massilani, Diyendo; Morley, Mike W.; Mentzer, Susan M.; Aldeias, Vera; Vernot, Benjamin; Miller, Christopher; Stahlschmidt, Mareike; Kozlikin, Maxim B.; Shunkov, Michael V.; Derevianko, Anatoly P.; Conard, Nicholas J.; Wurz, Sarah; Henshilwood, Christopher S.; Vasquez, Javi; Essel, Elena; Nagel, Sarah; Richter, Julia; Nickel, Birgit; Roberts, Richard G.; Pääbo, Svante; Slon, Viviane; Goldberg, Paul; Meyer, Matthias

Ancient DNA recovered from Pleistocene sediments represents a rich resource for the study of past hominin and environmental diversity. However, little is known about how DNA is preserved in sediments and the extent to which it may be translocated between archaeological strata. Here, we investigate DNA preservation in 47 blocks of resin-impregnated archaeological sediment collected over the last four decades for micromorphological analyses at 13 prehistoric sites in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America and show that such blocks can preserve DNA of hominins and other mammals. Extensive microsampling of sediment blocks from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains reveals that the taxonomic composition of mammalian DNA differs drastically at the millimeter-scale and that DNA is concentrated in small particles, especially in fragments of bone and feces (coprolites), suggesting that these are substantial sources of DNA in sediments. Three microsamples taken in close proximity in one of the blocks yielded Neanderthal DNA from at least two male individuals closely related to Denisova 5, a Neanderthal toe bone previously recovered from the same layer. Our work indicates that DNA can remain stably localized in sediments over time and provides a means of linking genetic information to the archaeological and ecological records on a microstratigraphic scale.

2021Journal article

Open Access

Thermo-microstratigraphy of shells reveals invisible fire use and possible cooking in the archaeological record

Publication . Simões, Carlos; Aldeias, Vera

The archaeological visibility of hearths related to shellfish cooking methods is limited, particularly in pre-ceramic shell midden contexts. Important evidence for use of fire is the thermal alteration of components, namely the identification of burnt shells. Mollusk shells that mineralize as aragonite are particularly indicative of burning due to the conversion of aragonite to calcite through recrystallization at known temperature thresholds. However, roasting temperatures needed to open bivalves, do not necessarily cause thermal alterations in the cooked shell. This complicates the significance of shell mineralogy by itself to recognize cooking, and discerning pre-depositional from in situ heating. To distinguish between cooking and burning, we combine micromorphological analyses with microscopic Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy to investigate mineralogical thermo-alterations alongside microstratigraphic formation studies. Experimentally heated specimens of Cerastoderma edule and Scrobicularia plana are used to identify the temperature thresholds of biogenic calcium carbonate phase alteration at the micro-scale. These results are then used to interpret mineral alterations in deposits from two Mesolithic shell midden contexts from Portugal. Micro-stratigraphically controlled mineralogy proved to be particularly useful to distinguish between pre-depositional heating from in situ heating, configuring a novel methodology for recognition of traces of cooking shellfish versus traces of fire used for other purposes. Mapping the mineral phase conversion at a micro stratigraphic scale also allows us to identify instances of in situ fire events that were invisible macroscopically. This combined microstratigraphic and mineralogical methodology considerably increases our capacity of deciphering intricate shell midden stratigraphy and occupational events.

2022Journal article

Open Access