Abstract:Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR) analysis of 100 adhesive samples from different prehistoric composite artefacts, pottery, and amorphous lumps across Eastern Europe and Urals were conducted with the aim to establish a fast analytical screening method for adhesive assignment. The ATR-FT-IR analysis allowed the identification of major chemical components of the adhesive samples that were assigned to three main groups: birch bark tar without major additives, birch ba… Show more
“…In 74% of their instances they are associated with aquatic or terrestrial animal fats. There is an almost complete absence (29 of 1,425) of lipid profiles typical of plant resins and tars (where di-or triterpenes are prominent in the extract), perhaps unexpected given the presumed importance of these substances to hunter-gatherers 25,26 . Similarly, only one sample found at Grube-Rosenhof LA 58 (ref.…”
Section: Articlementioning
confidence: 99%
“…25 Podlachian Museum in Białystok, Białystok, Poland. 26 Research Center for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Saratov, Russia. 27 Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology, Schleswig, Germany.…”
Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a far faster rate than previously thought. Chemical characterization of organic residues shows that European hunter-gatherer pottery had a function structured around regional culinary practices rather than environmental factors. Analysis of the forms, decoration and technological choices suggests that knowledge of pottery spread through a process of cultural transmission. We demonstrate a correlation between the physical properties of pots and how they were used, reflecting social traditions inherited by successive generations of hunter-gatherers. Taken together the evidence supports kinship-driven, super-regional communication networks that existed long before other major innovations such as agriculture, writing, urbanism or metallurgy.
“…In 74% of their instances they are associated with aquatic or terrestrial animal fats. There is an almost complete absence (29 of 1,425) of lipid profiles typical of plant resins and tars (where di-or triterpenes are prominent in the extract), perhaps unexpected given the presumed importance of these substances to hunter-gatherers 25,26 . Similarly, only one sample found at Grube-Rosenhof LA 58 (ref.…”
Section: Articlementioning
confidence: 99%
“…25 Podlachian Museum in Białystok, Białystok, Poland. 26 Research Center for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Saratov, Russia. 27 Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology, Schleswig, Germany.…”
Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a far faster rate than previously thought. Chemical characterization of organic residues shows that European hunter-gatherer pottery had a function structured around regional culinary practices rather than environmental factors. Analysis of the forms, decoration and technological choices suggests that knowledge of pottery spread through a process of cultural transmission. We demonstrate a correlation between the physical properties of pots and how they were used, reflecting social traditions inherited by successive generations of hunter-gatherers. Taken together the evidence supports kinship-driven, super-regional communication networks that existed long before other major innovations such as agriculture, writing, urbanism or metallurgy.
“…There is a significant body of research supporting the widespread use of bitumen in the Fertile Crescent (ex: Connan and van de Velde, 2010; Breu et al, 2022) which predates the introduction of agriculture and pastoralism (Bar-Yosef, 1987;Rosenberg and Chasan, 2021). Nevertheless, in Neolithic Europe, mainly birch bark tar and tree resins were chosen for the same applications (Chen et al, 2022;Rageot et al, 2016Rageot et al, , 2021Urem-Kotsou et al, 2018) although bitumen was still used in southern Italy, where accessible deposits existed (Nardella et al, 2019). Whether newly arrived Neolithic groups developed the technology to produce birch bark tar independently or they adopted it after contacts with local communities is a question still unresolved.…”
“…Archaeological investigations into tar production, especially derived from birch bark, span a vast chronology—from the Middle Palaeolithic to the medieval period (Chen et al 2021; Rageot et al 2016; Regert et al 2019; Schenck & Groom 2018; Schmidt et al 2019; Stacey et al 2020). Tar is a plant sub-product typically made from birch bark or pine wood, which appears within the archaeological record as an amorphous residue, either as a lump or associated with a variety of objects including lithic and osseous tools, ceramic vessels and personal ornaments.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Like other organic adhesive products, the preservation of terpenoid tars can be negatively impacted under particular preservation conditions, such as acidic soils (Croft et al 2016); or, in the right conditions, e.g. anoxic or humid conditions, preserved (Chen et al 2021, 13). Experimental work focused on understanding the rate of preservation of different adhesive substances has demonstrated that birch tar survives exceptionally well, slightly better than other adhesives (e.g.…”
Mesolithic resinous adhesives are well known for their role as hafting mastic within composite technologies, yet it is increasingly clear that their usage was more diverse than this. Birch-bark tar has been recovered from Mesolithic contexts as chewed lumps linked to medicinal treatment of toothache and oral diseases, and as a decorative element on ornaments and art objects; and an amorphous resinous substance possibly derived from pine or spruce resin has been found within a burial context. This diversity of applications suggests that resins and tars may have been understood in different ways which did not always privilege their mechanical functionality. To underscore the limited archaeological perspective of conifer resins and tars as hafting agents, we draw on data sourced from a wide range of ethnographically documented societies, demonstrating the array of economic and social functions these materials have for contemporary hunter-gatherer groups. Using archaeological case studies, we illustrate how a deeper understanding of the material and sensory properties of resins and tars, and the trees from which they are derived, opens new insights into the diverse roles resinous materials performed within Mesolithic worldviews.
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