Burning wood or burning bone? A reconsideration of flotation evidence from Upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian) sites in the Moravian Corridor

This paper compares archaeobotanical and other data from new excavations at two Upper Palaeolithic sites — Dolní V?stonice II and P?edmostí I — in the Moravian Corridor, Czech Republic. Both contain the traces of broadly contemporary ‘Gravettian’ occupations during the warmer episodes of the Pleistocene which preceded the last glacial maximum. Yet their archaeobotanical remains show striking differences — those from Dolní V?stonice II being dominated by large quantities of conifer wood charcoal, while those from P?edmostí I are much more scanty and dominated by vitrified plant remains, in association with large quantities of burnt bone. We argue that these differences between these two datasets arise from different uses of fuel at either site: bone at P?edmostí I and wood at Dolní V?stonice II. Subsequently, we explore the possible reasons for this difference and argue that once likely taphonomic distinctions are accounted for, these data on fuel use offer fresh insights into the functions and durations of these Upper Palaeolithic occupations of the Moravian corridor and some possible implications for how archaeobotanical data from such sites should be interpreted.     

Fuel Management (Bone and Wood) During the Lower Aurignacian in the Pataud Rock Shelter (Lower Palaeolithic, Les Eyzies de Tayac, Dordogne, France). Contribution of Experimentation

The use of bone as fuel during the lower Aurignacian in the Pataud rock shelter was studied. An anterior study allowed us to dismiss the hypothesis of an imbalance between wood availability and the use of bone as fuel. An experimental study of bone combustion shows the specific properties of bone as fuel. We have proposed that the combustion of a mixture of material (wood and bone) is more effective as source of heat than the combustion of wood alone and the higher the proportion of bone the longer the combustion lasts. Lastly, we observed that the combustion of bone favours two kinds of heat transfer: radiation and convection, but that it is completely ineffective for conduction. The results show that the use of bone could result from an intentional management of fuel in relation with the function of the settlement. It also could be a response to the disadvantage of using wood in a Palaeolithic camp.     

Radiocarbon dating and the “old shell” problem: direct dating of artifacts and cultural chronologies in coastal and other aquatic regions

Archaeologists have long recognized the problem of the “old wood” effect in radiocarbon dating charcoal and wood samples, the age of which may be hundreds of years older than their use by humans. Such problems have resulted in significant changes in how most researchers select wood and charcoal samples for ¹⁴C dating, with many now using relatively short-lived carbonized materials for dating. Despite the significant strides made in our understanding of the potential biases of the “old wood” effect, little emphasis has been placed on the possible impacts of dating “old shell” in archaeological deposits. The use of marine shell for ¹⁴C dating is widespread in coastal areas around the world, including a growing emphasis on the dating of individual shell artifacts via Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). In dating shell artifacts, we have obtained several dates older than associated ¹⁴C dates for short-lived subsistence remains from the same deposits, including great disparities (>10,000 years) and more subtle differences (≥100 years). These discrepancies appear to be due to the use of old shells by humans to make beads and other artifacts, including shells collected from fossil deposits, older archaeological sites, and beaches. The problems caused by the use of old shells to make beads and other artifacts are surmountable through careful sample selection, analysis of multiple ¹⁴C dates on a variety of materials, and proper calibration procedures.     

Charcoal scarcity in Epigravettian settlements with mammoth bone dwellings: the taphonomic evidence from Mezhyrich (Ukraine)

Fuel management during the Paleolithic periods is an important issue to understand past human subsistence. Numerous Palaeolithic sites relate an abundance of burnt bones in hearths and an absence or scarcity of wood charcoals, which leads studies to focus on burnt bone remains and the use of bones in hearths. Few works take into account the micro-residues of wood charcoals which can still be present in hearth areas and excavated sediments. We studied the Epigravettian site with mammoth bone dwellings of Mezhyrich (Ukraine) previously characterized by its high content of burnt bones and an “absence” of wood charcoal during the so-called mammoth steppe. The presence or absence and proportions of both wood charcoals and burnt bones were quantified in macro-, meso- and microscale sediment size fractions by an image analysis method. Our results show that excavations during field-works at Mezhyrich give only a partial image of the original anthracological record and that most charcoal materials are lost with standard archaeological and anthracological approaches. The scarcity of charcoals in this site was possibly due to an important mass reduction accentuated by the addition of bones in hearths. By applying our protocol we recovered a significant amount of wood charcoals which provides the first ¹⁴C dates from charcoals at Mezhyrich. Numerous charcoals are identified contributing subsequent information about vegetation, environment and burning practices. They indicate, by comparison with pollen data already collected, the presence of forest patches in a mammoth steppe landscape, which might have influenced the collecting behavior of Epigravettian populations.     

From Lithics to Spatial and Social Organization: Interpreting the Lithic Distribution and Raw Material Composition at the Final Palaeolithic Site of Kettig (Central Rhineland,Germany)

During the Final Palaeolithic Federmessergruppen period, a wide range of siliceous raw materials was used in the Central Rhineland (Germany). Beside materials from the immediate region, exogenous resources such as flint from up to 100 km away in the Meuse drainage area and the moraines of the Saalian glaciation were exploited. At Kettig, the spatial distribution of different lithic raw materials and analysis of several categories of burnt finds allow the characterization of the settled area in space and time. While adequate, good-quality raw material was available in the Central Rhineland, the regular use of exogenous raw materials at Central Rhineland sites also demonstrates the necessity of maintaining regular social contacts with other groups in neighbouring regions.     

Archaeobotanical inference of Bronze Age land use and land cover in the eastern Mediterranean

Charcoal and charred seeds at five Bronze Age archaeological sites discern ancient land use in the eastern Mediterranean. Seed frequencies of orchard crops, annual cereals and pulses, and wild or weedy plants are used to characterize plant utilization at different archaeological sites on the island of Cyprus, in the Rift Valley of Jordan, and in the Jabbul Plain and along the upper Euphrates River valley in Syria. Seed to charcoal ratios provide proxies to determine the relative usage of dung versus wood for fuel across the ancient Mediterranean landscape. Greater charcoal and lower charred seed values are interpreted to represent a wooded environment, while higher amounts of charred seeds and minimal wood charcoal suggest a much great use of dung as a fuel source. Interestingly, Politiko-Troullia (Cyprus, Cypriot archaeological sites are, by convention, named for the nearest modern village (Politiko), followed by an italicized toponym (Troullia) referring to the plot of land that incorporates the site) has the lowest seed to charcoal ratio, suggesting its residents primarily burned wood and that the landscape surrounding Troullia remained relatively wooded during the Bronze Age. In contrast, villagers at Tell el-Hayyat (Jordan) utilized a mixture of wood and dung, in contrast to Tell Abu en-Ni’aj (Jordan), and especially Umm el-Marra and Tell es-Sweyhat (Syria), where inhabitants relied solely on dung fuel. Comparative analysis and interpretation of seed and charcoal evidence thus illustrates the variety of fuel use strategies necessitated by the dynamic and diverse Bronze Age landscapes of the Eastern Mediterranean.     

The Exploitation of Plant Resources by Neanderthals in Amud Cave (Israel): The Evidence from Phytolith Studies

The depositional environments of Amud Cave indicate that phytolith assemblages retrieved from the cave's sediments are an integral part of the Middle Palaeolithic sequence. As such, they provide direct evidence for plant use. The Amud Neanderthals emphasized both wood and grass exploitation. Ligneous parts of trees and shrubs were used mainly for fuel. Herbaceous plants were used for bedding, possibly fuel, and for food. There is clear and repetitive evidence for the exploitation of mature grass panicles, inferred to have been collected for their seeds. These findings suggest that, as with the pattern recently discerned for faunal resources, a broad spectrum of plants has been exploited from at least the end of the Middle Palaeolithic. Phytolith analysis now provides a tool for testing models explaining subsistence and mobility patterns during the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic and for better understanding the role of vegetal resources in shaping these patterns.     

Colonization of Northern Eurasia by Modern Humans: Radiocarbon Chronology and Environment

The distribution of frequencies of radiocarbon-dated Palaeolithic sites in northern Eurasia shows three peaks of 40–30, 24–18 and 17–1 ka bp. We argue that these peaks reflect the waves in the colonization of that area by Anatomically Modern Humans stemming from Central and Eastern Europe and caused by environmental stress.     

A radiocarbon chronology for the complete Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transitional sequence of Les Cottés (France)

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition is the key period for our understanding of Neanderthal and modern human interactions in Europe. The site of Les Cottés in south-west France is one of the rare sites with a complete and well defined sequence covering this transition period. We undertook an extensive radiocarbon dating program on mammal bone which allows us to propose a chronological framework of five distinct phases dating from the Mousterian to the Early Aurignacian at this site. We found that the Mousterian and Châtelperronian industries are separated from the overlying Protoaurignacian by a gap of approximately 1000 calendar years. Based on a comparison with Upper Paleolithic sites in Europe we see an overlap in the ages of Châtelperronian industries and Aurignacian lithic assemblages, which are usually associated with Anatomical Modern Humans, which is consistent with an acculturation at distance model for these late Neanderthals. The Proto and Early Aurignacian appear contemporaneous indicating that this transition was rapid in this region. Anatomically Modern Humans are present at the site of Les Cottés at least at 39,500 cal BP roughly coincident with the onset of the cold phase Heinrich 4.     

The Landes de Gascogne (southwest France): periglacial desert and cultural frontier during the Palaeolithic

During the last glacial period, a large part of the Aquitaine basin (southwest France) was a periglacial desert comprising coversands with low-relief dune fields surrounded by loess accumulations. OSL and radiocarbon dates show that the phase of maximum sand deposition coincides with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2. Peats and gleyic palaeosoils intercalated within the sands at some sites indicate that vegetation cover was able to develop locally during short events, possibly D–O interstadials, due to raised groundwater levels in interdunal depressions. Few Palaeolithic sites have been discovered in the coversand area in contrast to the peripheral loess region. Systematic survey along a future highway corridor demonstrates that this paucity of sites is not the result of insufficient survey nor deep site burial, but rather reflects an archaeological reality. This strongly suggests that the sand area was not attractive for hunter–gatherer populations due to its reduced levels of water resources, and available vegetation and animal biomass. The distribution of cultural markers such as art items and projectile points also shows that the coversand area probably acted as a barrier separating two different cultural sub-areas, one in the Pyrenees and Cantabria, the other in the Périgord. As a consequence, the commonly accepted view that southwest France, as a whole, served as a refugia during the cold and arid phases of the Pleistocene should be replaced by a more complex one that reflects the fact that a large part of the territory was almost unoccupied and that human populations were concentrated along alluvial valleys.     

Cultural and trade practices in Sincu Bara (Senegal): a multi-proxy investigation

The Sincu Bara site in Senegal is one of the most famous archeological sites in Western Africa. Here we present the results of a multi-proxy study that combined microscopic analyses, carbon content, stable carbon isotope (δ¹³C) and radiocarbon (¹⁴C) measurements. This investigation exhibits a chronological framework in two phases: from 400 yr AD to 650 yr AD and 650 yr AD to 900 yr AD. Furthermore, it shows that besides basic potteries, some potsherds are notable for a temper exclusively made with human-harvested C4 plants. Finally, the ¹⁴C analysis performed on the organic slip strongly indicates the use of bitumen or bitumen-derived products for red slip preparation. This suggests the establishment of trade relationships with Nigerian and/or Trans-Saharan populations as early as 400 yr AD.     

A rock magnetic record of Pleistocene rainfall variations at the Palaeolithic site of Attirampakkam,Southeastern India

Attirampakkam, an open-air stratified Palaeolithic site in southeastern India is the focus of ongoing studies to investigate the nature of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic occupation in relation to changing Pleistocene environments. The paucity of faunal or palaeobotanical remains at the site required the use of rock magnetic properties (χ_lf, χ_fd, χ_fd %, χ_ARM, SIRM, χ_ARM/SIRM, SIRM/χ_lf, χ_ARM/χ_lf, χ_ARM/χ_fd, S-ratio, HIRM and HIRM/IRM_300mT) as proxies for deciphering the palaeoenvironments and palaeoclimates of the region. Rock magnetic data from stratified deposits within excavated trenches show that the bulk of the sedimentation was intermittent with no subaerial exposure of sediments for long periods, and points to fluctuating wetter and drier climates associated with the Acheulian to Late Middle Palaeolithic levels. There is a general trend towards a wetter climate from Layer 5 upwards. Layer 7 offers evidence of bacterial magnetite (χ_ARM/χ_lf > 40 and χ_ARM/χ_fd > 1000), suggesting the onset of micro-anaerobic environments as a result of floods. Greigite is indicated in Layer 5 (SIRM/χ_lf > 30 × 10³ A m^?1), which indicates a reducing environment. Layer 2 represents an arid climate (higher proportion of haematite and a coarser magnetic grain size). Layer 1a again is indicative of an arid climate (presence of calcrete, magnetically “hard” minerals and coarser magnetic grain size). Results indicate that the southeast coast of India experienced a mostly dry tropical climate during the Pleistocene. The detected occurrence of a few notably more arid intervals did not disrupt occupation of the site by successive groups of hominins.     

Sources of Archaeological Obsidian on Sakhalin Island (Russian Far East)

Instrumental neutron activation analysis was performed on 79 obsidian tools and flakes from 35 sites on Sakhalin Island dating from Upper Paleolithic (c. 19,000 bp ) to Early Iron Age (c. 2000–800 bp ). Due to the absence of volcanic glass on Sakhalin Island, raw materials from the nearest obsidian sources on Hokkaido Island, such as Oketo, Shirataki, Tokachi-Mitsumata, and Akaigawa, were also analysed. A strong correlation between the chemical compositions of obsidian artefacts from Sakhalin and volcanic glass sources from Hokkaido was discovered. In particular, the Oketo and Shirataki sources were used for tool manufacturing throughout all of Sakhalin Island's prehistory. The distances between sources and archaeological sites range from 200–1000 km. The intensive exchange of raw materials continued and even intensified after the appearance of the La Pérouse (Soya) Strait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin about 10,000–8000 bp. The Sakhalin Island populations were deeply involved in the obsidian exchange network centered on Hokkaido.     

Seasoned or green? Radial cracks analysis as a method for identifying the use of green wood as fuel in archaeological charcoal

For several years, sociological questions have been central in anthracology. The development of socio-economic approaches based on the recognition of anatomical signatures in wood has made it possible to focus on topics related to firewood use and its management. The presence of radial cracks (RC) on archaeological charcoal is generally interpreted as the result of the burning of green wood. The present study proposes a verification of this theory by the experimental combustion of seasoned and green wood of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Experimenting with this species was a research priority since it was the dominant taxon (representing 80-100% of the charcoal remains) identified in the Palaeolithic European sites under consideration.The experiments were conducted using two different methods: (i) inside a muffle furnace that allowed us to control the combustions, but in which the combustion process is quite different from most archaeological situations and (ii) in an open fireplace, less controllable but closer to the archaeological conditions. The systematic quantification of the number, length and width of the radial cracks (RC) measured on the transversal sections of the experimental samples demonstrates that (i) radial cracks occur independently of the moisture content of the wood before the combustion (on green and seasoned wood); (ii) however, the average number of radial cracks (RC/cm²) allows distinguishing seasoned from green wood; (iii) in the muffle furnace, the size of the RC appeared to be a good criterion for discriminating seasoned and green wood, but this observation was not confirmed by the open-air combustions. Our results clearly show that the appearance of radial cracks is not diagnostic of the combustion of green wood. Nevertheless, the number of radial cracks (RC/cm²) could represent a new method that might help identifying the combustion of green wood in archaeological charcoal samples.     

Reindeer Hunting in the Upper Palaeolithic: Sex Ratios as a Reflection of Different Procurement Strategies

This paper is a first attempt to investigate the variability in reindeer-procurement strategies in Upper Palaeolithic sites by means of sex ratios, as reflected by osteometrical data. For this purpose the “Variability Size Index” method is employed. The idea behind the analysis is that sex ratios in reindeer (but also in red deer and in bovids) were mainly determined—as they are in modern populations—by the reproductive biology of the animals and not by environmental conditions. Thus, any deviations from these ratios must be explained in terms of behavioural/cultural variables. The faunal material for the study comes from sites in southwest France, Switzerland and southern Germany. During the Upper Palaeolithic females dominate in all assemblages, but a clear variability can be seen: some sites show sex ratios similar to those found in Palaeolithic carnivore dens, whereas other sites show somewhat higher frequencies of bulls. The variation in the sex ratios of reindeer among Upper Palaeolithic sites cannot be explained by either their chronological position or topographical location, but it is more probably a result from seasonal differences in reindeer-procurement. Thus generalizations about the exploitation of reindeer or other prey species based on results of a single site or layer of a site will mask the variability in the subsistence strategies which existed either during the Upper Palaeolithic or, at a finer scale, even during the Magdalenian.     

ESR and AMS-based 14C Dating of Mousterian Levels at Mujina Pećina,Dalmatia, Croatia

This paper presents the first chronometric dates for sediments that contain a Mousterian industry in Dalmatia (south Croatia). Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating was conducted on two teeth from the Mousterian level E1 at the site of Mujina Pećina. Additionally five bone and one charcoal sample from five different strata of origin at this site were dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Assuming 30% moisture for both the gamma and beta dose rate calculations, the mean LU ESR age estimate is 44±5 ka for level E1, which is statistically indistinguishable from the mean EU ESR age estimate of 40±7 ka. A single, uncalibrated ¹⁴C age from the E1/E2 interface yielded an age estimate of 45,170 +2780/−2060 years bp while the mean of the five samples from overlying Mousterian levels is 39±3 ka. The true (calibrated) age of this mean is about 42 ka, which means that the entire stratigraphic profile in Mujina Pećina apparently was very rapidly deposited, and that the ESR age, regardless of uptake model is in good agreement with the calibrated ¹⁴C mean age. Temporally, Mujina Pećina overlaps with Pontinian Mousterian sites in west-central Italy and Vindija level G3 from northwestern Croatia. However, there are notable differences between the Mousterian industry from Mujina Pećina and these other sites. Collectively, the Croatian sites yield important evidence on the adaptation of European Mousterian people.     

A new approach to study the fuel used in hearths by hunter-gatherers at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Abri Pataud (Dordogne,France)

The fuel used in hearths in the Upper Palaeolithic period and the management of this fuel have long given rise to questions on intentional or opportunistic human comportment. To understand how fuel was managed during the Aurignacian and Gravettian cultures, hearth samples from the French site of Abri Pataud (ca. 34–20 kyr BP) were collected. An image analysis method for the automated quantification of burnt particles from macroscopic-to-microscopic sediment fractions was developed, and the results obtained using this method were compared with the palaeoenvironmental data available close to the site. At Abri Pataud, the use of bones was dominant during the Pleniglacial, suggesting an intentional practice. However, environmental pressures could have influenced the fuel management practices of the hunter-gatherers, even if the dualistic relationship between the availability of firewood and the use of bone in hearths must be considered. Thus, burnt particle quantification provides more than just an observation of burnt macroremains in hearths: it relates to fundamental information on human behavior.     

The Anthropogenic Use of Firewood During the European Middle Pleistocene: Charcoal Evidence from Levels XIII and XI of Bolomor Cave,Eastern Iberia (230–160 ka)

Human control of fire is a widely debated issue in the field of Palaeolithic archaeology, since it involved significant technological innovations for human subsistence. Although fire evidence has been the subject of intense debate regarding its natural or anthropogenic nature, most authors agree that combustion structures represent the most direct evidence of human control of fire. Wood charcoal fragments from these contexts represent the fuel remains that result from humans’ collection of firewood, which means they can reveal significant behavioural and palaeoenvironmental information relevant to our understanding of Middle Palaeolithic societies. In this work, we present anthracological data derived from combustion structure 2 (level XIII, ca. 230?ka, MIS 7) and combustion structure 4 (level XI, ca. 160?ka, MIS 6) from Bolomor Cave, which are chronologically among the earliest combustion structures found in Europe. The present work discusses how the presence of black pine and / or scots pine in both levels sheds light on the characterisation of the local landscape. Additional analyses focussing on the pre- and post-depositional processes affecting charcoal preservation point to biodegradation patterns. The aim of this work is to provide the first discussion concerning the anthracological data derived from Bolomor Cave in order to contribute to the general debate regarding the use of fire during the European Middle Pleistocene.     

Quantifying woodland resource usage and selection from Neolithic to post Mediaeval times in the Irish Midlands

The antiquity and context (site or feature type) are the two principal factors that act as a framework for interpreting charcoal and wood data from archaeological sites in the recreation of past woodland environments. This research addresses these parameters through the analysis of over 18,000 charcoal fragments from 57 archaeological excavations carried out along a 61?km road scheme in the midland region of Ireland. Observations on spatial vegetation dynamics and woodland resource patterns are also reported on. The data were analysed through percentage frequency and multivariate analyses. The results reveal woodland resource usage in terms of wood types selected for use as fuel or as structural wood as well as patterns of change and variability in taxonomic composition in relation to site types, feature types and time periods. Selection was found to be low in prehistoric times and in particular at burnt mound sites/fulachta fiadh but became increasingly important as time progressed. This has important implications when charcoal from archaeological settings is used in environmental reconstructions.