Fire in the Early Palaeolithic: Evidence from burnt small mammal bones at Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar, Murcia, Spain

Combustion at the late Early Pleistocene site of Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (Murcia, Spain)

“…A statistically significant contrast exists between the proportion of micro-mammalian bone fragments (<5kg live-weight) showing colour change, consistent with exposure to heat, as against those showing less change, when samples from upper unit VI containing burnt chert and bone were compared with samples from unit V above and lower unit VI sediment below. In a taphonomic analysis of around 2300 micro-mammalian bone fragments, identified among around 4400 micro-faunal fragments from those sedimentary units (Rhodes 2014; Rhodes et al . 2014, forthcoming), 25% showed evidence of thermal alteration as discolouration of bone surface (Figure 8).…”

“…In a taphonomic analysis of around 2300 micro-mammalian bone fragments, identified among around 4400 micro-faunal fragments from those sedimentary units (Rhodes 2014; Rhodes et al . 2014, forthcoming), 25% showed evidence of thermal alteration as discolouration of bone surface (Figure 8). The deeply lying sediment provided around 95% of all micro-mammalian specimens inspected from CNERQ that corresponded to categories 3–5 in Figure 8; furthermore, in that sediment, bones from different anatomical regions were affected alike, which is compatible with in situ exposure to high temperature.…”

Early evidence of fire in south-western Europe: the Acheulean site of Gruta da Aroeira (Torres Novas, Portugal)

“…This includes dispersed charcoal fragments in caves, including those found in level TE19 G at the Sima del Elefante site (Atapuerca, Spain) 21 , or in open-air sites, such as Boxgrove (UK) 22 . Thermally altered materials, such as bone and chert, have also been found in Cueva Negra del Rio Quípar in Spain 23,24 , among other sites 9 . However, the anthropogenic nature of these remains is controversial because it cannot be excluded that they are in secondary position and originate in wildfires outside the cave 25 .…”

fiReproxies: A computational model providing insight into heat-affected archaeological lithic assemblages

“…for cooking, warmth or lighting), size and duration. This inherent complexity has led to the implementation of a wide range of analytical methods attempting to identify anthropogenic burning in the archaeological record, including the identification and quantification of fire proxy evidence like heated lithic materials [ 9 – 13 ] and charred/combusted bone [ 14 – 16 ], soil and sediment micromorphology [ 2 , 17 – 21 ], microcharcoal analysis [ 22 – 24 ], archaeomagnetism [ 25 – 27 ] and various forms of spectral analyses [ 28 – 31 ] and chemical characterisation [ 32 – 34 ] of fire affected materials and sediments. Added to this are numerous experimental studies testing the behaviour of both wood [ 35 – 37 ] and bone [ 38 ] fuels and the effects of heat on underlying substrates and artefacts therein [ 3 , 39 – 45 ].…”

“…Such fire proxy evidence is particularly important when hearth features or other less-durable direct evidences of burning (i.e. charcoal, ash and/or heated sediments) are lacking, and can also include faunal remains [ 16 , 42 ] or stones occurring naturally in the substrate [ 60 , 61 ].…”