A way to break bones? The weight of intuitiveness

Vettese, Delphine; Stavrova, Trajanka; Borel, Antony; Marín, Juan Manuel Arribas; Moncel, M-H.; Arzarello, Marta; Daujeard, Camille

doi:10.1101/2020.03.31.011320

Cited by 3 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…If we only consider the assemblages with non-random distribution, it is possible to discuss butchery traditions or intuitive patterns. Some works highlight the existence of intuitive patterns in percussion mark distribution for marrow recovery, based on experiments involving non-trained experimenters [ 45 , 46 , 122 ]. Using the results of this experiment and chi-square analysis, we compared whether the non-random distribution of percussion marks is statistically different or not from intuitive pattern distribution.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New evidence of Neandertal butchery traditions through the marrow extraction in southwestern Europe (MIS 5–3)

et al. 2022

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Long bone breakage for bone marrow recovery is a commonly observed practice in Middle Palaeolithic contexts, regardless of the climatic conditions. While lithic technology is largely used to define cultural patterns in human groups, despite dedicating research by zooarchaeologists, for now butchering techniques rarely allowed the identification of clear traditions, notably for ancient Palaeolithic periods. In this paper, we test the hypothesis of butchery traditions among Neandertal groupsusing the bone assemblages from three sites in southwestern Europe. These sites are located in southeastern France and northern Italy and are dated to the Late Middle Palaeolithic: Abri du Maras (Marine Isotopic Stages (MIS) 4–3, Ardèche), Saint-Marcel (MIS 3, Ardèche), and Riparo Tagliente (MIS 4–3, Verona). The detection of culturally-induced patterns of bone breakage involves differentiating them from intuitively generated patterns. To tackle this issue, we used a zooarchaeological approach focusing on the percussion marks produced during the bone breakage process. Statistical analyses as the chi-square test of independence were employed to verify if percussion mark locations were randomly distributed, and if these distributions were different from the intuitive ones. For femurs and humeri, our results demonstrate that Neandertal groups occupying the Abri du Maras (levels 4.1 and 4.2) and the Saint-Marcel Cave (levels g and h) sites in France applied butchery traditions to recover yellow marrow. However, the traditions developed at each site were different. On the contrary, in Riparo Tagliente, in Italy, several groups or individuals of a same group did not share the same butchery traditions over time. Regarding the Abri du Maras and Saint Marcel Cave assemblages, our research demonstrates that Neandertal groups applied intense standardized bone breakage, far from the intuitive practice observed experimentally and related to bone density and/or skeletal morphology. These standardized patterns, which are systematic and counter-intuitive, can be interpreted as culturally induced for the Abri du Maras and Saint Marcel Cave. The diversity of Neandertal traditions should be considered by taking into account the butchery, in particular the practice of bone marrow extraction, and not only technological behaviours and types of tool kits.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether this results from natural or anthropogenic differential preservation (bone fat recovery or fuel), we observed that shaft fragments are much more numerous than epiphyses. Yet, this type of mark is usually located close to the spongy portions [ 122 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New evidence of Neandertal butchery traditions through the marrow extraction in southwestern Europe (MIS 5–3)

et al. 2022

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“…Their dataset may therefore be regarded as a null hypothesis according to which the archaeological data could be tested. If Paleolithic patterns of percussion marks differ from Vettese et al's [3] "intuitive" patterns, then the null hypothesis is disproved and one can argue in favor of a learned pattern. The latter can be a result of "culture", as Vettese et al [3] phrase it, in the sense of nonrandom action that draws on transmitted knowledge.…”

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confidence: 83%

“…If Paleolithic patterns of percussion marks differ from Vettese et al's [3] "intuitive" patterns, then the null hypothesis is disproved and one can argue in favor of a learned pattern. The latter can be a result of "culture", as Vettese et al [3] phrase it, in the sense of nonrandom action that draws on transmitted knowledge. Such comparisons bear a great potential for understanding the degree of technological behavior in the Paleolithic by factoring out the "natural" constraints of bone breakage patterns.…”

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confidence: 83%

“…Were MP humans breaking bones intuitively or did they abide by a strict "protocol", and, if the latter, was this protocol optimized for marrow retrieval or geared towards another, less obvious goal? The new preprint by Vettese and colleagues [3] took a novel approach to this question, by conducting an experiment which involved novice butchers, relying on nothing but their intuition, and recording the way in which they broke marrow-rich bones. Some variability was noted in the "intuitive" patterns; indeed, future studies replicating this experiment and adding more variables such as more experienced butchers and non-bovid bones are warranted.…”

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Breaking bones: Nature or Culture?

Demarchi¹

2020

PCI Archaeo

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Ressources alimentaires et inégalités sociales au Paléolithique : la question du stockage à large échelle

Costamagno¹,

Noûs²

2021

paleo

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Stockage alimentaire, chasseurscueilleurs paléolithiques, techniques de conservation, stockage de masse, hiérarchie sociale. MOTS-CLÉSLe stockage alimentaire à large échelle est considéré comme une condition nécessaire, bien que non suffisante, à l'émergence des inégalités sociales au sein des sociétés humaines. Dans le cadre de cet article, nous nous interrogeons sur l'émergence de telles pratiques en Europe occidentale au Paléolithique récent. Le registre ethnoarchéologique et ethnohistorique indique que la consommation différée des ressources alimentaires est primordiale dans des environnements à fluctuations saisonnières importantes mais le stockage à large échelle aboutissant à une réduction drastique du degré de mobilité ne peut se développer que dans des environnements très particuliers où les ressources fournissant la base de l'alimentation sont surabondantes saisonnièrement. La déshydratation, la fermentation, la congélation et la conservation dans de la graisse sont autant de techniques traditionnelles permettant une préservation des aliments sur le long terme. Les indices archéologiques signant un stockage des ressources sont particulièrement ténus et nécessitent la prise en compte d'un faisceau d'arguments relevant du registre archéozoologique et d'autres données plus contextuelles. L'enquête transchronologique qui est ensuite menée montre que les techniques de conservation des aliments étaient déjà maîtrisées par les Néandertaliens avant l'arrivée des humains anatomiquement modernes en Europe. Une intensification de cette pratique au début du Paléolithique récent n'est pas attestée. Au Magdalénien, le stockage des ressources alimentaires est avéré et semble prendre de l'importance. Pour autant, les indices d'un stockage en masse sont absents et les prérequis écologiques exposés par A. Testart (1982a) comme la condition sine qua non à l'émergence de sociétés hiérarchiques ne sont pas réunis.

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A way to break bones? The weight of intuitiveness

Cited by 3 publications

References 45 publications

New evidence of Neandertal butchery traditions through the marrow extraction in southwestern Europe (MIS 5–3)

New evidence of Neandertal butchery traditions through the marrow extraction in southwestern Europe (MIS 5–3)

Breaking bones: Nature or Culture?

Ressources alimentaires et inégalités sociales au Paléolithique : la question du stockage à large échelle

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