Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals.
Five nearly identical fragments of specialized bone tools, interpreted as lissoirs (French for "smoothers"), have been found at two Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France. The finds span three separate archaeological deposits, suggesting continuity in the behavior of late Neandertals...
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2020
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7912d7fs 2024-09-15T18:31:46+00:00 Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals. Martisius, Naomi L Welker, Frido Dogandžić, Tamara Grote, Mark N Rendu, William Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie Wilcke, Arndt McPherron, Shannon JP Soressi, Marie Steele, Teresa E 7746 2020-05-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7912d7fs https://escholarship.org/content/qt7912d7fs/qt7912d7fs.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64358-w unknown eScholarship, University of California qt7912d7fs https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7912d7fs https://escholarship.org/content/qt7912d7fs/qt7912d7fs.pdf doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64358-w public Scientific reports, vol 10, iss 1 Bone and Bones Animals Archaeology Tool Use Behavior Neanderthals article 2020 ftcdlib https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64358-w 2024-06-28T06:28:20Z Five nearly identical fragments of specialized bone tools, interpreted as lissoirs (French for "smoothers"), have been found at two Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France. The finds span three separate archaeological deposits, suggesting continuity in the behavior of late Neandertals. Using standard morphological assessments, we determined that the lissoirs were produced on ribs of medium-sized ungulates. However, since these bones are highly fragmented and anthropogenically modified, species determinations were challenging. Also, conservative curation policy recommends minimizing destructive sampling of rare, fragile, or small artifacts for molecular identification methods. To better understand raw material selection for these five lissoirs, we reassess their taxonomy using a non-destructive ZooMS methodology based on triboelectric capture of collagen. We sampled four storage containers and obtained identifiable MALDI-TOF MS collagen fingerprints, all indicative of the same taxonomic clade, which includes aurochs and bison (Bos sp. and Bison sp.). The fifth specimen, which was stored in a plastic bag, provided no useful MALDI-TOFMS spectra. We show that the choice of large bovid ribs in an archaeological layer dominated by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) demonstrates strategic selection by these Neandertals. Furthermore, our results highlight the value of a promising technique for the non-destructive analysis of bone artifacts. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer tarandus University of California: eScholarship Scientific Reports 10 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Bone and Bones Animals Archaeology Tool Use Behavior Neanderthals |
spellingShingle |
Bone and Bones Animals Archaeology Tool Use Behavior Neanderthals Martisius, Naomi L Welker, Frido Dogandžić, Tamara Grote, Mark N Rendu, William Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie Wilcke, Arndt McPherron, Shannon JP Soressi, Marie Steele, Teresa E Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals. |
topic_facet |
Bone and Bones Animals Archaeology Tool Use Behavior Neanderthals |
description |
Five nearly identical fragments of specialized bone tools, interpreted as lissoirs (French for "smoothers"), have been found at two Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France. The finds span three separate archaeological deposits, suggesting continuity in the behavior of late Neandertals. Using standard morphological assessments, we determined that the lissoirs were produced on ribs of medium-sized ungulates. However, since these bones are highly fragmented and anthropogenically modified, species determinations were challenging. Also, conservative curation policy recommends minimizing destructive sampling of rare, fragile, or small artifacts for molecular identification methods. To better understand raw material selection for these five lissoirs, we reassess their taxonomy using a non-destructive ZooMS methodology based on triboelectric capture of collagen. We sampled four storage containers and obtained identifiable MALDI-TOF MS collagen fingerprints, all indicative of the same taxonomic clade, which includes aurochs and bison (Bos sp. and Bison sp.). The fifth specimen, which was stored in a plastic bag, provided no useful MALDI-TOFMS spectra. We show that the choice of large bovid ribs in an archaeological layer dominated by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) demonstrates strategic selection by these Neandertals. Furthermore, our results highlight the value of a promising technique for the non-destructive analysis of bone artifacts. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Martisius, Naomi L Welker, Frido Dogandžić, Tamara Grote, Mark N Rendu, William Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie Wilcke, Arndt McPherron, Shannon JP Soressi, Marie Steele, Teresa E |
author_facet |
Martisius, Naomi L Welker, Frido Dogandžić, Tamara Grote, Mark N Rendu, William Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie Wilcke, Arndt McPherron, Shannon JP Soressi, Marie Steele, Teresa E |
author_sort |
Martisius, Naomi L |
title |
Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals. |
title_short |
Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals. |
title_full |
Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals. |
title_fullStr |
Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals. |
title_sort |
non-destructive zooms identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by neandertals. |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7912d7fs https://escholarship.org/content/qt7912d7fs/qt7912d7fs.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64358-w |
op_coverage |
7746 |
genre |
Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Scientific reports, vol 10, iss 1 |
op_relation |
qt7912d7fs https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7912d7fs https://escholarship.org/content/qt7912d7fs/qt7912d7fs.pdf doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64358-w |
op_rights |
public |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64358-w |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1810473519114354688 |