The effect of oxygen on fatty acid composition of soil micromycetes

Jirout, Jiří

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.01.035

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, this study is not able to give any direct proof for connecting the unsaturated FAs to the animal material placed in the grave in prehistoric times. One potential origin of unsaturated and long chain FAs in soil are microscopic fungi, invertebrates, and microbes [94][95][96]. The growth and density of these soil organisms may reflect differences in the chemical composition of the soil, potentially influenced by the organic and inorganic materials buried in the sampling locations.…”

Section: Preservation Of Animal Fibers Was Detected In Soil Chemical ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preservation of microscopic fur, feather, and bast fibers in the Mesolithic ochre grave of Majoonsuo, Eastern Finland

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The study of animal and plant fibers related to grave furnishing, garments, and grave goods in thousands-of-year-old burials provides new insights into these funerary practices. Their preservation presupposes favorable conditions, where bacterial and fungal activity is at a minimum, as in anaerobic, wet, salty, arid, or frozen environments. The extreme acidic-soil environments (i.e., podzols) of Finland pose a challenge when it comes to studying funerary deposits, as human remains are rarely found. However, its potential to preserve microparticles allows us to approach the funerary event from a totally different point of view. Here, we present the first multiproxy analyses of a Mesolithic deposit from Finland. A red-ochre burial of a child found in Majoonsuo is studied by analyzing 1) microscopic fibers, 2) fatty acids, and 3) physical-chemical (CIELab color, pH, grain size) properties of 60 soil samples and associated materials. The microscopic fibers evidenced the remains of waterfowl downy feathers, a falcon feather fragment, canid and small rodent hairs as well as bast fibers. These could have been used in furnishing the grave and as ornaments or clothes. Canid hairs could belong to a dog inhumation, or more likely to canid fur used as grave good/clothes. Samples with microparticles have more long-chain and unsaturated fatty acids, although animal species identification was not possible. Soil properties indicate that the burial was made in the local soil, adding homogeneous red ochre and removing the coarser material; no bioturbation was found. The highly acidic sandy soil, together with a slight increase in finer particles when ochre is abundant, probably resulted in micro-scale, anoxic conditions that prevented bacterial attack. This study reveals the first animal hairs and feathers from a Finnish Mesolithic funerary context, and provides clues about how their preservation was possible.

show abstract

Section: Preservation Of Animal Fibers Was Detected In Soil Chemical ...mentioning

confidence: 99%