Identifying the animal species used to manufacture bone arrowheads in South Africa

Bradfield, Justin; Forssman, Tim; Spindler, Luke; Antonites, Annie R.

doi:10.1007/s12520-018-0688-5

Cited by 24 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…As PVC eraser is the cheapest and most available option it is likely that it will become the most popular in future studies. Importantly, the bone fragments in our study were not polished or worked, and therefore the collagen probably bound to the PVC eraser or polishing film better than that from highly worked, polished bone surfaces such as those of bone points, which when tested previously with these methods, have had low rates of success 33 . Based on our data, we suggest that continued investigation of minimally destructive sampling techniques is merited; they may in future supplant destructive sampling as the most common strategy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Le Meillour et al developed a protocol for the identification of degraded bone fragments and applied it to the identification of remains from Toteng 32 and from Leopard’s Cave in Namibia 24 . Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) has been used to identify animal species from which bone was selected to fashion into artefacts 33 , to distinguish East African sheep and goats 2 , to identify Asian fauna moving into eastern Africa 30 , and to investigate early farmers’ choice of elephant or hippo ivory in south-eastern Africa 34 . Proteomic techniques have also been used to identify the oldest authenticated proteins ever found, from eggshell at the site of Laetoli, Tanzania, 3.8 Ma 35 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Palaeoproteomics confirm earliest domesticated sheep in southern Africa ca. 2000 BP

Coutu

Taurozzi

Mackie

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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We used palaeoproteomics and peptide mass fingerprinting to obtain secure species identifications of key specimens of early domesticated fauna from South Africa, dating to ca. 2000 BP. It can be difficult to distinguish fragmentary remains of early domesticates (sheep) from similar-sized local wild bovids (grey duiker, grey rhebok, springbok—southern Africa lacks wild sheep) based on morphology alone. Our analysis revealed a Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) marker (m/z 1532) present in wild bovids and we demonstrate through LC–MS/MS that it is capable of discriminating between wild bovids and caprine domesticates. We confirm that the Spoegrivier specimen dated to 2105 ± 65 BP is indeed a sheep. This is the earliest directly dated evidence of domesticated animals in southern Africa. As well as the traditional method of analysing bone fragments, we show the utility of minimally destructive sampling methods such as PVC eraser and polishing films for successful ZooMS identification. We also show that collagen extracted more than 25 years ago for the purpose of radiocarbon dating can yield successful ZooMS identification. Our study demonstrates the importance of developing appropriate regional frameworks of comparison for future research using ZooMS as a method of biomolecular species identification.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeoproteomics confirm earliest domesticated sheep in southern Africa ca. 2000 BP

Coutu

Taurozzi

Mackie

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…Studies in North Africa have shown that during the Later Stone Age bone tools were made from only a small section of the animal taxa present at the site, suggesting that people embedded bone tools within culturally-mediated technological strategies [128]. Similarly, in the South African Iron Age, certain taxa seem to have been deliberately avoided, although mechanical suitability in addition to cultural choice may have been factor [129]. Although the results of the present study hint at preferential selection, it is uncertain whether the apparent shift away from Perissodactyla to Artiodactyla at Sibudu is representative of the entire worked bone sample recovered from the site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying animal taxa used to manufacture bone tools during the Middle Stone Age at Sibudu, South Africa: Results of a CT-rendered histological analysis

Bradfield

2018

PLoS ONE

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This paper presents the histological characterisation of a selection of worked bone artefacts from Middle Stone Age layers at Sibudu cave, South Africa. Histographic rendering is achieved using high-resolution Computed Tomography, which is non-destructive and facilitates three-dimensional histologic analysis. Excellent congruency in image quality was achieved with previous studies using this method. The results show that most of the artefact fragments contain mostly primary lamellar tissue, which is the bone tissue best adapted to withstand impact stresses. This indicates that bone with greater elastic properties was chosen. Histological characterisation allows the identification of animal taxa. Based on the sample analysed in this paper, Perissodactyla bone was used predominantly in the older layers at the site. Artiodactyla are represented throughout but appear far more frequently in the later (post-Howiesons Poort onwards) layers. Some of the Artiodactyla specimens have high proportions of Haversian tissue, reducing elasticity. The higher percentages of Haversian tissue in the post-Howiesons Poort artefacts relative to Holocene examples from southern Africa suggests that people may have started experimenting with bone from different animal taxa at this time and had not yet learned to eliminate the mechanically weaker secondary tissue. Apart from mechanical considerations, possible cultural constraints governing raw material selection is also explored.

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“…Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight mass spectrometry was performed using a Bruker Ultraflex II instrument over the m/z range 700–3,700. Species biomarkers were manually determined for the reference taxa and, together with pre-existing biomarkers in the database [ 19 , 104 ], used to categorise the archaeological samples upon manual interpretation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With some notable exceptions, social zooarchaeology is still in its infancy in southern Africa [ 17 ]. Attempts have been made recently to examine possible animal selection strategies in bone-tool manufacture in the 58–65 ka period at Sibudu Shelter, South Africa [ 18 ] and during the early period of hunter-gatherer and farmer contact in the north of South Africa [ 19 ]. In the first study, it appears that there was a switch from a focus on perissodactyl bone to artiodactyl bone through time, while the latter study showed that people selected a narrower range of species for tool manufacture than for food, and that certain species may have been specifically selected for tool manufacture.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection preferences for animal species used in bone-tool-manufacturing strategies in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2021

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Animal symbolism is a prominent feature of many human societies globally. In some cases, these symbolic attributes manifest in the technological domain, influencing the decision to use the bones of certain animals and not others for tool manufacture. In southern Africa, animals feature prominently in the cosmogenic narratives of both hunter-gatherer and Bantu-speaking farmer groups. Whenever these two culturally distinct groups came into contact with each other there would be an assimilation of cosmogenic concepts of power and the adoption of certain symbolically important animals. In this paper, we report on which animals were selected to make bone tools during the first millennium AD contact period in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, and explore the extent to which this selection may have been influenced by the symbolic associations of specific animals. Our results show selective targeting of specific animals for tool manufacture at some sites, with a narrowing of the range of selected species during the first millennium AD contact period. Certain antelope tribes, such as Aepycerotini, Cephalophini and Antilopini, appear to have been deliberately avoided, thus arguing against opportunistic selection. Nor does the range of selected animals appear to show any obvious mechanical considerations, as has been noted in similar studies. We highlight the potential of ZooMS for understanding the dynamics of animal symbolism in the past.

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Identifying the animal species used to manufacture bone arrowheads in South Africa

Cited by 24 publications

References 54 publications

Palaeoproteomics confirm earliest domesticated sheep in southern Africa ca. 2000 BP

Palaeoproteomics confirm earliest domesticated sheep in southern Africa ca. 2000 BP

Identifying animal taxa used to manufacture bone tools during the Middle Stone Age at Sibudu, South Africa: Results of a CT-rendered histological analysis

Selection preferences for animal species used in bone-tool-manufacturing strategies in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

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