Neanderthalers kookten en bewerkten hun eten al veel uitgebreider dan gedacht. Ze aten daarom allerlei soorten planten, zelfs als die niet eetbaar waren. Britse wetenschappers hebben dit ontdekt... Show moreNeanderthalers kookten en bewerkten hun eten al veel uitgebreider dan gedacht. Ze aten daarom allerlei soorten planten, zelfs als die niet eetbaar waren. Britse wetenschappers hebben dit ontdekt toen ze 12 tot 70 duizend jaar oude kookresten analyseerden die zijn gevonden in Griekenland en Irak. Femke Reidsma is promovendus bij de menselijke evolutie-groep aan de Universiteit Leiden en vertelt erover bij Nieuws en Co. Show less
The use of fire is considered to be one of the most important cultural innovations in human evolution. Understanding the taphonomy of fire remains is an important prerequisite for valid... Show moreThe use of fire is considered to be one of the most important cultural innovations in human evolution. Understanding the taphonomy of fire remains is an important prerequisite for valid interpretations of hominin fire-related behaviour. Presented here are the results of a series of laboratory-based experiments testing the effect of different pH conditions (acidic, neutral, alkaline) on the physical and chemical properties of heated bone (charred and combusted). By taking a fundamental-research approach the study gives insight into the specific effect of pH exposure and its underlying chemical processes, and provides data that can be applied to heated bone from any context and time period. Results show that diagenesis has a significant impact on the preservation potential of heated bones, as well as on the reliability of the analytical techniques used to reconstruct past heating conditions. The study provides reference data and a toolkit for the analysis of heated bone, that explicitly takes diagenesis into account, and in doing so offers a significant improvement to the accuracy with which we can reconstruct heating conditions and fire-related human behaviour in the past. Show less
In response to the comment by Crombé and Langohr (2020) on our micromorphological study of Mesolithic pit hearths, we argue that these features are most likely anthropogenic in origin, and that it... Show moreIn response to the comment by Crombé and Langohr (2020) on our micromorphological study of Mesolithic pit hearths, we argue that these features are most likely anthropogenic in origin, and that it is therefore unlikely that they are the remains of burned ant nests. Arguments for an anthropogenic origin centre around (1) their regional and temporal distribution, (2) their spatial distribution within archaeological sites, (3) their charcoal spectrum and (4) the presence of cultural remains in the pits. We argue that the absence of fire-related features and apparent discrepancies in dating can be attributed to site-formation and taphonomic processes. Finally, we indicate that, due to a lack of actual observations of the subsurface morphology of burned ant nests, it is impossible to make a valid comparison. Based on the existing literature on ant nests fires, we come to a different model of this morphology than do Crombé and Langohr (2020). We conclude that these pit hearths form an important component of the Mesolithic archaeological record and that new research into their formation and their use may shed more light on their origin and purpose. Show less
The research contained in this dissertation explores the origins of fire making in prehistory, focusing primarily on the fire use practices and fire production capacities of Neandertals. The... Show moreThe research contained in this dissertation explores the origins of fire making in prehistory, focusing primarily on the fire use practices and fire production capacities of Neandertals. The dissertation is comprised of four peer-reviewed articles published in the journals Quaternary International, PLoS ONE, Journal of Archaeological Science and Scientific Reports, respectively, which are flanked by an introductory and synthesis chapter. The early chapters confront the debate surrounding the prevalence of fire use by Neandertals and discuss avenues by which we, as archaeologists, can better understand how fire use manifests in the Palaeolithic archaeological record. The latter chapters seek to provide a means for identifying artefactual evidence for fire making by Neandertals, ultimately presenting a series of French Middle Palaeolithic tools that exhibit use traces suggesting they were employed as fire starters, making these the earliest evidence for the regular production of fire by humans currently known. Show less
Evidence for fire use becomes increasingly sparse the further back in time one looks. This is especially true for Palaeolithic assemblages. Primary evidence of fire use in the form of hearth... Show moreEvidence for fire use becomes increasingly sparse the further back in time one looks. This is especially true for Palaeolithic assemblages. Primary evidence of fire use in the form of hearth features tends to give way to clusters or sparse scatters of more durable heated stone fragments. In the absence of intact fireplaces, these thermally altered lithic remains have been used as a proxy for discerning relative degrees of fire use between archaeological layers and deposits. While previous experimental studies have demonstrated the physical effects of heat on stony artefacts, the mechanisms influencing the proportion of fire proxy evidence within archaeological layers remain understudied. This fundamental study is the first to apply a computer-based model (fiReproxies) in an attempt to simulate and quantify the complex interplay of factors that ultimately determine when and in what proportions lithic artefacts are heated by (anthropogenic) fires. As an illustrative example, we apply our model to two hypothetical archaeological layers that reflect glacial and interglacial conditions during the late Middle Palaeolithic within a generic simulated cave site to demonstrate how different environmental, behavioural and depositional factors like site surface area, sedimentation rate, occupation frequency, and fire size and intensity can, independently or together, significantly influence the visibility of archaeological fire signals. Show less
Both environmental and cultural factors dictate how, when and where hunter-gatherers use fire in the landscape, as well as how well evidence for any one fire will preserve in the archaeological... Show moreBoth environmental and cultural factors dictate how, when and where hunter-gatherers use fire in the landscape, as well as how well evidence for any one fire will preserve in the archaeological record. Variability in the production and preservation of anthropogenic fire traces can potentially skew our perception of fire use in the past. With this in mind, the research presented in this article weighs in on the debate concerning Neandertal fire use and fire making, specifically, the assertion that Neandertals were unable to produce fire for themselves (Sandgathe et al., 2011a, 2011b). This hypothesis is based on the inferred correlation between climatic deterioration, concurrent lowering of lightning-ignited fire frequencies, and reduced signals for fire use in layers presumably deposited during the Lower Pleniglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 4) at the Middle Palaeolithic sites of Roc de Marsal and Pech de l’Azé IV (Aquitaine Basin, southwestern France), the logic being that if Neandertals could produce fire at will, fire use signals would remain largely consistent throughout the deposits despite there being limited access to natural fires in the landscape during this colder period. This review challenges these assertions at multiple scales by looking at regional lightning and fire regime dynamics, comparing the fire signals observed at Roc de Marsal and Pech de l’Azé IV to those of other sites nearby and around France, and exploring the various environmental and cultural factors likely influencing these signals. Ultimately, the data suggests that estimated reductions in lightning frequencies and fire regime during the Lower Pleniglacial (and colder stadial periods, in general) were not adequate to severely limit Neandertal access to natural fire, while possible artefactual evidence for Neandertal fire making challenges the assumption that they were at all reliant on lightning-ignited fire. Moreover, at the nearby Neandertal site of Combe Grenal, the majority of the layers exhibiting evidence of fire use have cold climatic signals, suggesting the fire use trends observed at Roc de Marsal and Pech de l’Azé IV are potentially local expressions of changes in regional site use patterns, possibly brought on by increased reliance on highly mobile, migratory reindeer prey species and reductions in local woodfuel availability during cold periods. Other factors potentially reducing the archaeological visibility of cold climate fire use are discussed. Show less
After a long period of cold conditions that characterize the Saalian Glacial in Europe, Neandertals were confronted with the warm and more forested environments of the Eemian Interglacial (125-115... Show moreAfter a long period of cold conditions that characterize the Saalian Glacial in Europe, Neandertals were confronted with the warm and more forested environments of the Eemian Interglacial (125-115,000 years ago). We do know that they were present in these environments, but the number of known sites and the size of their assemblages is relatively limited. The Eemian deposits of Neumark-Nord 2 (eastern Germany) yielded the unique opportunity for a detailed analysis of Neandertal behaviour within its environmental context. The reconstructed environmental conditions give us a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that Neandertals faced, and, together with data from other Eemian sites, provided indications for their environmental preferences. How Neandertals dealt with these environmental conditions is also reflected in the archaeological record, which has been addressed by a detailed analysis of the flint tool assemblage as well as the proxies for hominin use of fire at the site. Show less
