Developing FTIR microspectroscopy for analysis of plant residues on stone tools

Monnier, Gilliane; Frahm, Ellery; Luo, Bing; Missal, Kele

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2016.12.004

Cited by 51 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…A range of experimental work has provided further background knowledge on the material properties and the effects of fire on adhesive residues (Cnuts et al 2017;Kozowyk et al 2016Kozowyk et al , 2017aZipkin et al 2014). Advances in chemical analyses have improved our ability to accurately identify adhesive types based on smaller and smaller residues (Cnuts et al 2018;Hayes et al 2019;Monnier et al 2013Monnier et al , 2017Monnier et al , 2018. However, for all of this work, there are still a limited number of well identified and analysed adhesive residues on archaeological material of Palaeolithic origin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding preservation and identification biases of ancient adhesives through experimentation

Kozowyk

Gijn

Langejans

2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Adhesive production is one of the earliest forms of transformative technology, predating ceramics and metallurgy by over 150,000 years. The study of the adhesives used by Neandertals and early modern humans currently plays a significant role in debates about human technological and cognitive evolution. Depending on the type of adhesive used, different production sequences were required. These can vary in complexity and would have needed different knowledge, expertise, and resources to manufacture. However, our knowledge of this important technological development is severely hampered by poorly understood taphonomic processes, which affects the preservation and identification of adhesive materials and leads to a research bias. Here we present the results from a 3-year field preservation experiment. Flint flakes hafted and non-hafted with replica adhesives were left to weather naturally on and below the surface at two locations with different soils and climatic conditions. Differential preservation was recorded on a variety of natural adhesives by digitally measuring the surface area of each residue before and after the elapsed time. Residues were further assessed and photographed using metallographic optical microscopy. Results show that certain adhesives preserve to a significantly higher degree than others, while some materials may be more easily overlooked or visually misdiagnosed. We must therefore be aware of both taphonomic and identification biases when discussing ancient adhesive technology. This research provides a first look that will help us understand the disparities between which adhesives were used in the past and what we find in the archaeological record today.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding preservation and identification biases of ancient adhesives through experimentation

Kozowyk

Gijn

Langejans

2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…All the micro-FTIR spectra show the very intense band at 1157 cm −1 (Si-O stretching mode) and less intense bands at 469 and 798 cm −1 (O-Si-O and O-Si-Al bending modes) characteristic of the cryptocrystalline silica (SiO 2 ) which is the principal constituent of flint stones [ 83 , 84 ]. Moreover, all peaks show an up- down reversal due to the reststralhen effect [ 57 , 59 , 85 , 86 ]. Six out of eleven specimens reported the presence of a peak at 913 cm -1 suggesting the presence of hydroxyapatite ( Fig 11 blue spectrum) [ 87 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite of that, caution is needed when ancient residues on lithic tools are analyzed through FTIR. Infrared spectra of in-situ archeological residues generally suffer the low intensity of the bands of interest and the superimposition of signals produced by the stone reflection (Reststralhen bands) [ 57 , 59 , 61 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An integrated study discloses chopping tools use from Late Acheulean Revadim (Israel)

et al. 2021

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Chopping tools/choppers provide one of the earliest and most persistent examples of stone tools produced and used by early humans. These artifacts appeared for the first time ~2.5 million years ago in Africa and are characteristic of the Oldowan and Acheulean cultural complexes throughout the Old World. Chopping tools were manufactured and used by early humans for more than two million years regardless of differences in geography, climate, resource availability, or major transformations in human cultural and biological evolution. Despite their widespread distribution through time and space in Africa and Eurasia, little attention has been paid to the function of these items, while scholars still debate whether they are tools or cores. In this paper, we wish to draw attention to these prominent and ubiquitous early lithic artifacts through the investigation of 53 chopping tools retrieved from a specific context at Late Acheulean Revadim (Israel). We combined typo-technological and functional studies with a residue analysis aimed at shedding light on their functional role within the tool-kits of the inhabitants of the site. Here we show that most of the chopping tools were used to chop hard and medium materials, such as bone, most probably for marrow extraction. A few of the tools were also used for cutting and scraping activities, while some also served as cores for further flake detachment. The chopping tools exhibit extraordinarily well-preserved bone residues suggesting they were used mainly for bone-breaking and marrow acquisition. We discuss the data and explore the tool versus core debate also in light of a sample of 50 flake cores made on pebbles/cobbles retrieved from the same archeological layer. The results add further pieces to the puzzle of activities carried out at Revadim and add to our knowledge of the production and use of these enigmatic tools and their role in human evolutionary history.

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“…One of SDS's approaches to reconstructing environments and diets was to analyse preserved plant and animal residues that stuck to stone tools after hominins had used them for processing food. However, residue analysis is contentious (Monnier et al, 2012;Monnier et al, 2017;Wadley and Lombard, 2007). One of many debates stems from the idea that modern contaminants, such as starches originating from breakfast at the research camp that adhere to clothing and thereafter settle on stone tools, can make identifying ancient residues impossible (Crowther et al, 2014;Mercader et al, 2017).…”

Section: Palaeoanthropologistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific facts and oral traditions in Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania: Symmetrically analysing palaeoanthropological and Maasai black boxes

Lee

Koromo²,

Mercader

et al. 2019

Social Science Information

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Reminiscent of past colonial practices, contemporary archaeological research in Africa is still often governed and carried out by foreign entities that move Africans aside from their pasts and their countries’ archaeological heritage. Oldupai Gorge, located in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area, is a flagship human evolution research site. Less recognized is that a Maasai pastoral society inhabits the region. Despite over a century of excavations in the ‘birthplace of humanity’, local Maasai and palaeoanthropologists have rarely affiliated with each other. Furthermore, a lingering and erroneous characterization of the Maasai as archaic, environmentally damaging and premodern continues to guide policies that compromise Maasai pastoral livelihoods. This article utilizes actor–network theory to ethnographically and symmetrically compare the epistemic cultures of both the Maasai and palaeoanthropologists in Oldupai, and argues that while scientific and Maasai knowledge may differ in cultural content, both groups built ‘black boxes’ – such as scientific facts and oral traditions – in parallel and equally logical forms. Since there are no fundamental cognitive differences between members of each group, there are no justifiable reasons that the Maasai should continue to be excluded from research in their homeland and the myriad benefits that it can bring.

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Developing FTIR microspectroscopy for analysis of plant residues on stone tools

Cited by 51 publications

References 59 publications

Understanding preservation and identification biases of ancient adhesives through experimentation

Understanding preservation and identification biases of ancient adhesives through experimentation

An integrated study discloses chopping tools use from Late Acheulean Revadim (Israel)

Scientific facts and oral traditions in Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania: Symmetrically analysing palaeoanthropological and Maasai black boxes

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