Formation, morphology and interpretation of darkened faecal spherulites

Canti, Matthew; Nicosia, Cristiano

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2017.11.004

Cited by 34 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…As at Boncuklu, the absence of trampling indicators in these layers, such as compaction, massive or laminar microstructures, finely layered bedding, strong horizontal orientation of embedded inclusions, and crushing of bone, shell and charcoal fragments (Matthews et al 1996; Milek 2012; Rentzel et al 2017), dismisses the interpretation of these open sequences as penning areas. Rather, the occurrence of charred and partially calcined faecal matter strongly associated with calcitic ashes and darkened spherulites(Canti and Nicosia 2018) points to the frequent use of dung as fuel at 7 th millennium Pınarbaşı. By contrast, the earlier sequence in sample 13 comprises accumulations rich in plant materials (40-50% abundance), predominantly wood charcoal and smaller fragments of charred plants.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Animal Management Strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia: Integrating Micromorphological and Microfossil Evidence

García-Suárez

Portillo

Matthews

2018

Environmental Archaeology

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This paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early husbandry practices and animal diet by integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and calcitic dung spherulite analyses of midden deposits at the three neighbouring Neolithic sites of Boncuklu (9th-8th millennium cal BC), Pınarbaşı (7th millennium cal BC) and Çatalhöyük (8th-6th millennium cal BC) in the Konya Plain, Central Turkey. The results reveal considerable chronological and contextual variation in human-animal interrelations in open areas between different communities and sites. At Boncuklu, middens display well-defined areas where phytoliths and substantial accumulations of omnivore faecal matter low in spherulite content have been identified. By contrast, open spaces at the Late Neolithic campsite of Pınarbaşı comprise large concentrations of herbivore dung material associated with neonatal ovicaprine remains from spring birthing. Here, the deposits represent repeated dungburning events, and include high concentrations of dung spherulites and phytoliths from wild grasses, and leaves and culms of reeds that, we suggest here, derive from fodder and fuel sources. Late middens at Çatalhöyük are characterised by thick sequences derived from multiple fuel burning events and rich in ashes, charred plants, articulated phytolithsmainly from the husk of cereals, as well as the leaves and stems of reeds and sedgesand omnivore/ruminant coprolites, the abundance of the latter declining markedly in the latest levels of occupation. The application of this integrated microscopic approach to open areas has contributed to unravelling the complexity of formation processes at these sites, providing new insights into herding practices, diet, and the ecological diversity of Neolithic communities in Central Anatolia.

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confidence: 99%

Early Animal Management Strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia: Integrating Micromorphological and Microfossil Evidence

García-Suárez

Portillo

Matthews

2018

Environmental Archaeology

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“…Owing to neutral/slightly basic pH levels and dry conditions, the studied micro-geoarchaeological proxies were well preserved, displaying only minor degradation of micro-remains and excellent preservation of inorganic components [14]. It is likely, however, that calcitic dung spherulites were thermally decomposed and therefore underrepresented in sediments exposed to temperatures surpassing 600˚C [63,73,83].…”

Section: Micro-geoarchaeological Investigations Detected the Disposalmentioning

confidence: 96%

Byzantine—Early Islamic resource management detected through micro-geoarchaeological investigations of trash mounds (Negev, Israel)

et al. 2020

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Sustainable resource management is of central importance among agrarian societies in marginal drylands. In the Negev Desert, Israel, research on agropastoral resource management during Late Antiquity emphasizes intramural settlement contexts and landscape features. The importance of hinterland trash deposits as diachronic archives of resource use and disposal has been overlooked until recently. Without these data, assessments of community-scale responses to societal, economic, and environmental disruption and reconfiguration remain incomplete. In this study, micro-geoarchaeological investigations were conducted on trash mound features at the Byzantine-Early Islamic sites of Shivta, Elusa, and Nesanna to track spatiotemporal trends in the use and disposal of critical agropastoral resources. Refuse derived sediment deposits were characterized using stratigraphy, microremains (i.e., livestock dung spherulites, wood ash pseudomorphs, and plant phytoliths), and mineralogy by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Our investigations detected a turning point in the management of herbivore livestock dung, a vital resource in the Negev. We propose that the scarcity of raw dung proxies in the studied deposits relates to the use of this resource as fuel and agricultural fertilizer. Refuse deposits contained dung ash, indicating the widespread use of dung as a sustainable fuel. Sharply contrasting this, raw dung was dumped and incinerated outside the village of Nessana. We discuss how this local shift in dung management corresponds with a growing emphasis on sedentised herding spurred by newly pressed taxation and declining market-oriented agriculture. Our work is among the first to deal with the role of waste management and its significance to economic strategies and urban development during the late Roman Imperial Period and Late Antiquity. The findings contribute to highlighting top-down societal and economic pressures, rather than

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“…The partial melting of phytoliths is also noted in modern reference samples of dung fuel ashes, resulting from the burning of dung cakes composed of grass-dominated assemblages. Further, partially melted phytoliths have been identified in association with darkened dung spherulites, a frequent alteration of these microfossils when exposed to temperatures between 600 and 700°C (Canti and Nicosia 2018). Evidence of these high firing temperatures has provided insights into a range of firerelated activities at Çatalhöyük, including cooking and limeburning (Matthews 2005a;Matthews et al 2013;García-Suárez et al 2018, accepted-a;Portillo et al 2019).…”

Section: Dung Burning and The Use Of Dung In Construction Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock faecal indicators for animal management, penning, foddering and dung use in early agricultural built environments in the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia

Portillo

García-Suárez

Matthews

2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Livestock dung is a valuable material for reconstructing human and animal interrelations and activity within open areas and built environments. This paper examines the identification and multidisciplinary analysis of dung remains from three neighbouring sites in the Konya Plain of Central Anatolia, Turkey: Boncuklu (ninth-eighth millennium cal BC), the Çatalhöyük East Mound (eighth-sixth millennium cal BC), and the Late Neolithic occupation at the Pınarbaşı rockshelter (seventh millennium cal BC). It presents and evaluates data on animal management strategies and husbandry practices through the simultaneous examination of plant and faecal microfossils and biomarkers with thin-section micromorphology and integrated phytolith, dung spherulite, and biomolecular analyses, together with comparative reference geo-ethnoarchaeological assemblages. Herbivore dung and other coprogenic materials have been identified predominantly in open areas, pens and midden deposits through micromorphology and the chemical signatures of their depositional contexts and composition. Accumulations of herbivore faecal material and burnt remains containing calcitic spherulites and phytoliths have provided new information on animal diet, fodder and dung fuel. Evidence from phytoliths from in situ penning deposits at early Neolithic Çatalhöyük have provided new insights into foddering/ grazing practices by identifying highly variable herbivorous regimes including both dicotyledonous and grass-based diets. This review illustrates the variability of dung deposits within early agricultural settlements and their potential for tracing continuity and change in ecological diversity, herd management strategies and foddering, health, energy and dung use, as well as the complexity of interactions between people and animals in this key region during the early Holocene.

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Formation, morphology and interpretation of darkened faecal spherulites

Cited by 34 publications

References 33 publications

Early Animal Management Strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia: Integrating Micromorphological and Microfossil Evidence

Early Animal Management Strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia: Integrating Micromorphological and Microfossil Evidence

Byzantine—Early Islamic resource management detected through micro-geoarchaeological investigations of trash mounds (Negev, Israel)

Livestock faecal indicators for animal management, penning, foddering and dung use in early agricultural built environments in the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia

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