Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals

Abstract

Five nearly identical fragments of specialized bone tools, interpreted as lissoirs (French for "smoothers"), have been found at two Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France. The finds span three separate archaeological deposits, suggesting continuity in the behavior of late Neandertals. Using standard morphological assessments, we determined that the lissoirs were produced on ribs of medium-sized ungulates. However, since these bones are highly fragmented and anthropogenically modified, species determinations were challenging. Also, conservative curation policy recommends minimizing destructive sampling of rare, fragile, or small artifacts for molecular identification methods. To better understand raw material selection for these five lissoirs, we reassess their taxonomy using a non-destructive ZooMS methodology based on triboelectric capture of collagen. We sampled four storage containers and obtained identifiable MALDI-TOF MS collagen fingerprints, all indicative of the same taxonomic clade, which includes aurochs and bison (Bos sp. and Bison sp.). The fifth specimen, which was stored in a plastic bag, provided no useful MALDI-TOF MS spectra. We show that the choice of large bovid ribs in an archaeological layer dominated by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) demonstrates strategic selection by these Neandertals. Furthermore, our results highlight the value of a promising technique for the non-destructive analysis of bone artifacts. It is now accepted that some Neandertals produced bone tools 1-3. These include the discovery of four specialized bone tools from a total of three layers at two late Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France, Pech-de-l' Azé I (Pech I) and Abri Peyrony 4. Subsequently, a fifth example was found at Abri Peyrony 5. We interpreted these fragments of shaped and worn animal ribs as lissoirs, a term meaning "smoothers" in the French bone tool typology 6. Analyses suggest that these tools preserve traces consistent with abrasive pressure on animal skin 4,5. The use of these tools during the hide working process reflects a complex technical system where animal ribs were exploited for their specific raw material properties 7. Based on standard zooarchaeological assessments, their width and thickness suggest that they might have been produced from ribs of medium-sized ungulates (hooved animals such as red deer (Cervus elaphus) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)). However, taxonomic assignments of bone tools are difficult as their production and use often involves the deliberate reshaping of external surfaces, removing diagnostic features. Modified ribs present additional challenges due to shape and size variation across the ribcage. Though standard zooarchaeological analyses are needed to assess certain aspects of raw material selection (e.g., skeletal element), Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), a mass-spectrometric method for

Materiality, Agency and Evolution of Lithic Technology: an Integrated Perspective for Palaeolithic Archaeology

“…e.g. McGrath et al 2019;Martisius et al 2020). The integration of object-oriented arguments and materiality reflections therefore amplifies current lines of investigation, helping them to exploit their full analytical and interpretive potential and stimulating novel readings as well as previously unrecognised cross-disciplinary synergies.…”

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

“…Based on surface observation it was unclear whether the heating damage penetrated deeply or superficially into the bone. Despite numerous successes in non-destructive collagen extraction for ZooMS analysis [ 12 , 13 ], a previous pilot study from South Africa did not produce results when any of these non-destructive methods were used. Therefore, we decided to extract ~10 mg of bone powder from each specimen.…”

“…At the Later Stone Age site of Taforalt in Morocco, bone tool manufacture was embedded within culturally mediated strategies whereby certain animals were preferentially selected to make certain types of tools, while other animals were reserved for other types of tools [ 11 ]. Neanderthals’ preferential strategic selection of bison ribs to make lissoirs in layers dominated by reindeer remains [ 12 ], could also point to a symbolic role of bison in certain parts of France during the Middle Palaeolithic. Likewise, it has recently been found that among the pre-contact St-Lawrence Iroquoians, animal symbolism augmented the practical and functional considerations of bone-tool manufacture [ 13 ].…”

A method for the taphonomic assessment of bone tools using 3D surface texture analysis of bone microtopography

“…Bone tools, or technological objects made from an animal's skeletal remains, are commonly found in archaeological sites attributed to recent humans, i.e., after 50 ka (e.g., Bradfield et al 2018;Hublin et al 2020;Langley et al 2016;Legrand 2007;Sidéra 1993;Tejero 2014;Tejero et al 2016;Zhang et al 2016;Zhang et al 2018), and sometimes preserved in archaeological layers of other hominins (e.g., Backwell and d'Errico 2001;Gaudzinski 1999;Julien et al 2015;Mania and Mania 2005;Radmilli and Boschian 1996;Sano et al 2020;Soressi et al 2013). Purported Neandertal-made formal bone tools, those manufactured with techniques specific to bone such as scraping and grinding (d'Errico et al 2012), come from two late Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France (Martisius et al 2020;Soressi et al 2013). Five rib fragments have been preserved in three different layers at Abri Peyrony and Pech- b,c,d,and e) and are interpreted to be lissoirs, a French typological term meaning "smoothers" (Leroi-Gourhan 1968).…”

“…Four of the five artifacts were taxonomically identified using nondestructive zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry, all of which were attributed to aurochs or bison (Martisius et al 2020). The consistent use of large bovid ribs as the raw material for making these tools suggests they were strategically selected by Neandertals.…”