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Pansani TR, Bertrand L, Pobiner B, Behrensmeyer AK, Asevedo L, Thoury M, Araújo-Júnior HI, Schöder S, King A, Pacheco MLAF, Dantas MAT. Anthropogenic modification of a giant ground sloth tooth from Brazil supported by a multi-disciplinary approach. Sci Rep 2024; 14:19770. [PMID: 39227606 PMCID: PMC11371818 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69145-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 08/01/2024] [Indexed: 09/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Identifying evidence of human modification of extinct animal remains, such as Pleistocene megafauna, is challenging due to the similarity of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic taphonomic features observed under optical microscopy. Here, we re-investigate a Late Pleistocene ground sloth tooth from northeast Brazil, previously suggested as human-modified based only on optical observation. To characterize the macro- and micro-morphological characteristics of the marks preserved in this tooth and evaluate potential human modification, we used stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) supplemented by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV photoluminescence (UV/PL), synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF), and synchrotron micro-computed tomography (SR-µCT). These methods allowed us to discriminate non-anthropogenic taphonomic features (root and sedimentary damage), anthropogenic marks, and histological features. The latter shows the infiltration of exogenous elements into the dentine from the sediments. Our evidence demonstrates the sequence of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic taphonomic modification of this tooth and supports its initial intentional modification by humans. We highlight the benefits of emerging imaging and spectral imaging techniques to investigate and diagnose human modification in fossil and archaeological records and propose that human modification of tooth tissues should be further considered when studying possibly anthropogenically altered fossil remains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thaís R Pansani
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
- Université Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, PPSM, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - Loïc Bertrand
- Université Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, PPSM, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Briana Pobiner
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Anna K Behrensmeyer
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Lidiane Asevedo
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Geociências, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Vitória da Conquista, BA, Brazil
| | - Mathieu Thoury
- Institut photonique d'analyse non-destructive européen des matériaux anciens, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, ministère de la Culture, UVSQ, MNHN, Saint-Aubin, France
| | - Hermínio I Araújo-Júnior
- Departamento de Estratigrafia e Paleontologia, Faculdade de Geologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | | | | | - Mírian L A F Pacheco
- Laboratório de Paleobiologia e Astrobiologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Sorocaba, SP, Brasil
| | - Mário A T Dantas
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Geociências, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Vitória da Conquista, BA, Brazil
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Parfitt SA, Bello SM. Bone tools, carnivore chewing and heavy percussion: assessing conflicting interpretations of Lower and Upper Palaeolithic bone assemblages. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231163. [PMID: 38179084 PMCID: PMC10762443 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
The use of bone tools by early humans has provided valuable insights into their technology, behaviour and cognitive abilities. However, identifying minimally modified or unshaped Palaeolithic osseous tools can be challenging, particularly when they are mixed with bones altered by natural taphonomic processes. This has hampered the study of key technical innovations, such as the use of bones, antlers and teeth as hammers or pressure-flakers to work (knap) stone tools. Bones chewed by carnivores can resemble osseous knapping tools and have sometimes been mistaken for them. In this paper, we review recent advances in the study of osseous knapping tools with a focus on two Palaeolithic sites in the UK, the Acheulean Horse Butchery Site at Boxgrove and the Magdalenian site of Gough's Cave, where knapping tools were mis-attributed to carnivore chewing. These osseous knapping tools are investigated using microscopy, high-resolution imaging and comparisons with experimental knapping tools. This allows for new insights into human behaviour at these sites and opens fresh avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon A. Parfitt
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
- Centre of Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Silvia M. Bello
- Centre of Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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Technological and functional analysis of 80-60 ka bone wedges from Sibudu (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). Sci Rep 2022; 12:16270. [PMID: 36175454 PMCID: PMC9523071 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20680-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Fully shaped, morphologically standardized bone tools are generally considered reliable indicators of the emergence of modern behavior. We report the discovery of 23 double-beveled bone tools from ~ 80,000-60,000-year-old archaeological layers at Sibudu Cave in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We analyzed the texture of use-wear on the archaeological bone tools, and on bone tool replicas experimentally used in debarking trees, processing rabbit pelts with and without an ochre compound, digging in sediment in and outside a cave, and on ethnographic artefacts. Debarking trees and digging in humus-rich soil produce use-wear patterns closely matching those observed on most Sibudu tools. This tool type is associated with three different Middle Stone Age cultural traditions at Sibudu that span 20,000 years, yet they are absent at contemporaneous sites. Our results support a scenario in which some southern African early modern human groups developed and locally maintained specific, highly standardized cultural traits while sharing others at a sub-continental scale. We demonstrate that technological and texture analyses are effective means by which to infer past behaviors and assess the significance of prehistoric cultural innovations.
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Martellotta EF, Perston YL, Craft P, Wilkins J, Langley MC. Beyond the main function: An experimental study of the use of hardwood boomerangs in retouching activities. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273118. [PMID: 35972969 PMCID: PMC9380927 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Retouched lithic tools result from the functional modification of their edges following knapping operations. The study of the later stages of the reduction sequence is fundamental to understanding the techno-functional features of any toolkit. In Australia, a gap exists in the study of the chaîne opératoire of lithic tools shaped or re-shaped through percussion retouching. In our previous works (Martellotta EF., 2021, Martellotta EF., 2022), we have presented evidence for the use of hardwood boomerangs for retouching purposes in Australian Aboriginal communities. Through a detailed experimental protocol, the present study demonstrates how boomerangs can function as retouchers. We found that the use-wear generated on the boomerang’s surface during retouch activity is comparable to retouch-induced impact traces observed on Palaeolithic bone retouchers, as well as to experimental bone retouchers generated in our replication experiments. Finally, we explore the role that microscopic lithic chips embedded in the retouchers’ surface play in the formation process of retouching marks. Our results address the need for a deeper investigation of percussion retouching techniques in Australian contexts, opening the possibility that uncommon objects—such as boomerangs—could be used for this task. This concept also highlights the broader topic of the highly diverse multipurpose application of many Indigenous tools throughout Australia. At the same time, the study reveals a deep functional connection between osseous and wooden objects—a topic rarely investigated in archaeological contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Francesca Martellotta
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Yinika L. Perston
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Griffith Centre for Social Cultural Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul Craft
- Birrunburra/Bundjalung/Yugambeh/Yuggera & Turrbal Aboriginal Nations
- Burragun Aboriginal Cultural Services, Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jayne Wilkins
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Michelle C. Langley
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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