Ancient projectile weapons from ice patches in northwestern Canada: identification of resin and compound resin-ochre hafting adhesives

Helwig, Kate; Monahan, Valery; Poulin, Jennifer; Andrews, Thomas D.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.09.010

Cited by 44 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The use of adhesives for hafting in prehistory was a significant technological advancement [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Three primary materials were used to make adhesives in the Palaeolithic: Naturally sticky resins exuded from trees [9,10], a naturally sticky petroleum product known as bitumen [11][12][13][14][15], and manufactured tars or pitches produced from the destructive distillation (pyrolysis) of plant matter [4,[16][17][18][19]. The earliest known adhesives are tars, dated to approximately 200,000 years ago, and were made from birch (Betula sp.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laboratory strength testing of pine wood and birch bark adhesives: A first study of the material properties of pitch

Kozowyk

Poulis

Langejans

2017

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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Adhesives are an important yet often overlooked aspect of human tool use. Previous experiments have shown that compound resin/gum adhesive production by anatomically modern humans was a cognitively demanding task that required advanced use of fire, forward planning, and abstraction among other traits. Yet the oldest known adhesives were produced by Neandertals, not anatomically modern humans. These tar or pitch adhesives are an entirely different material, produced from a distinct, albeit similarly complex process. However, the material properties of these adhesives and the influence of the production process on performance is still unclear. To this end we conducted a series of laboratory based lap shear and impact tests following modern adhesive testing standards and at three different temperatures to measure the strength of pine and birch pitch adhesives. We tested eight different recipes that contain charcoal as an additive (mimicking contamination) or were reduced by boiling for different lengths of time. Lap shear tests were conducted on wood and flint adherends to determine shear strength on different materials, and we conducted high load-rate tests to understand how the same material behaves under impact forces. Our results indicate that both pine and birch pitch adhesives behave similarly at room temperature. Pine pitch is highly sensitive to the addition of charcoal and further heating. Up to a certain extent charcoal additives increases performance, as does extra seething. However, too much charcoal and seething will reduce performance. Similarly, pine pitch is sensitive to ambient temperature changes and it is strongest at 0°C and weakest at 38°C. Adhesive failures occur in a similar manner on flint and wood suggesting the weakest part of a flint-adhesive-wood composite tool may have been the cohesive strength of the adhesive. Finally, pine pitch adhesives may be better suited to resisting high-load rate impacts than shear forces. Our experiments show that pitch production and post-production manipulation are sensitive processes, and to obtain a workable and strong adhesive one requires a deep understanding of the material properties. Our results validate previous archaeological adhesive studies that suggest that the manufacture and use of adhesives was an advanced technological process.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laboratory strength testing of pine wood and birch bark adhesives: A first study of the material properties of pitch

Kozowyk

Poulis

Langejans

2017

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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“…There are a number of physical and chemical methods that have been used to characterise plant resins. Chromatography, spectroscopy (mass spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance) and capillary electrophoresis have been used in the destructive analysis of resins from museum objects (Blee et al, 2010;Bradshaw, 2013;Findeisen et al, 2007;Helwig et al, 2014;Lambert et al, 1999;Lambert et al, 2007;Lambert et al, 2005;Larson et al, 1991;Martinez-Richa et al, 2000;Silva et al, 2002). Paper chromatography is a simple method for the analysis and identification of resins and has been used to characterise Australian Xanthorrhoea spp.…”

Section: Techniques For the Characterisation Of Resinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…resins (Andreotti et al, 2006;Bradshaw, 2013;Cartoni et al, 2004;De la Cruz-Canizares et al, 2005;Helwig et al, 2014;Modugno et al, 2006a;Modugno et al, 2006b;Niimura and Miyakoshi, 2003;Pitthard et al, 2006a;Pitthard et al, 2006b;Scalarone et al, 2005;Shillito et al, 2009). In contrast to the destructive techniques, light microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy have great potential as non-invasive means of determining the nature, and in some cases the identity, of plant resins from archaeological collections (Helwig et al, 2014;Mizzoni and Cesaro, 2007;Shillito et al, 2009). Light microscopy has been employed to characterise and identify resins on Australian artefacts including the analysis of incorporated starch grains and cellulose within the resin (Akerman et al, 2002;Boot, 1993;Cooper and Nugent, 2009;Fullagar et al, 2006;Fullagar et al, 2009;Parr, 2002;.…”

Section: Techniques For the Characterisation Of Resinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterising native plant resins from Australian Aboriginal artefacts using ATR-FTIR and GC/MS

Matheson

McCollum

2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Resin use by Australian Aborigines has been documented in ethnographic accounts across the continent and is also evident from archaeological and anthropological artefacts. This research assesses the use of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and gas chromatography coupled mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for the identification of native plant resins on museum artefacts. A collection of thirteen museum artefacts were analysed using light microscopy and characterised using both ATR-FTIR and GC/MS. The resins were identified to the plant genus and one to the species level, as spinifex (Triodia spp. R.Br.), ironwood (Erythrophleum chlorostachys (F.Muell.) Baill.) and grass tree (Xanthorrhoea spp. Sm.) by comparison to a reference collection of modern exudates from 34 Australian plant species. The two analytical methods used, produced a significant agreement in results but one has practical advantages. On eight of the artefacts, ATR-FTIR was able to be performed on the residue in situ, without removal, presenting a non-destructive analytical method for the identification of resins which is applicable to rare and delicate artefacts from museum collections. Permission to remove the residue off the artefact is not always granted or feasible, so ATR-FTIR has a significant advantage over GC/MS and other methods which require chemical treatment or even destruction of the archaeological sample. Both of the methods examined are demonstrated to accurately infer the botanical origin of archaeological and anthropological resins, providing insight on the use, preparation and trading of resins, with the consequent

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“…Fourier transform infrared (Blee et al 2010;Matheson and McCollum 2014) and Raman (Edwards and Falk 1997;Helwig et al 2014) spectroscopy have also been used for the characterization of archaeological glues. Both methods are fast and non-destructive, but the identification is less discriminatory than chromatographic methods (Colombini et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fingerprinting Glues Using HS‐SPME GC×GC–HRTOFMS: a New Powerful Method Allows Tracking Glues Back in Time

et al. 2018

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The use of glues for stone tool hafting is an important innovation in human evolution. Compared to other organic remains, glues are preserved more frequently, though mainly in small spots. Reliable identification requires chemical molecular characterization, which is traditionally performed by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Current methods of extraction and derivatization prior to GC–MS are destructive and require relatively large samples, which is problematic for prehistoric glue residues. In this paper, we discuss the results of an experimental study using a new method (HS‐SPME GC×GC–HRTOFMS) that proves effective for identifying small quantities of compound glues. The method is non‐destructive with an improved sensitivity in comparison to traditional GC–MS, and it has a high potential for prehistoric samples.

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Ancient projectile weapons from ice patches in northwestern Canada: identification of resin and compound resin-ochre hafting adhesives

Cited by 44 publications

References 34 publications

Laboratory strength testing of pine wood and birch bark adhesives: A first study of the material properties of pitch

Laboratory strength testing of pine wood and birch bark adhesives: A first study of the material properties of pitch

Characterising native plant resins from Australian Aboriginal artefacts using ATR-FTIR and GC/MS

Fingerprinting Glues Using HS‐SPME GC×GC–HRTOFMS: a New Powerful Method Allows Tracking Glues Back in Time

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