Reply to Schmidt et al.: Interpretation of Paleolithic adhesive production: Combining experimental and paleoenvironmental information

Kozowyk, Paul R. B.; Langejans, Geeske H. J.; Dusseldorp, Gerrit L.; Niekus, M.J.L.Th.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1920933117

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…These findings support the hypothesis that the Le Moustier artifacts were part of composite tools. They were assembled by gluing them to shafts or handles using an adhesive, or alternatively, as Neanderthal archaeological examples show ( 22 , 27 ), the adhesive was molded onto the tools and functioned as the handle itself.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…European H. sapiens also used adhesives from the late Aurignacian and Gravettian (<33 ka) on (23)(24)(25), but their botanical origin and production techniques are not well understood [an exception is the use of bitumen in Eastern Europe (26)]. The implications of Neanderthal birch tar are still debated [compare (27,28)], but what is certain is that Neanderthals made the effort to produce it, although other adhesive substances could simply have been collected in nature [see the discussion in (9,29,30)]. Thus, similarly to the modern human record from Africa, the known European adhesive technology documents innovative behavior and even cumulative cultural transmission of techniques (31,32).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ochre-based compound adhesives at the Mousterian type-site document complex cognition and high investment

Schmidt,

Iovita,

Charrié-Duhaut

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

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Ancient adhesives used in multicomponent tools may be among our best material evidences of cultural evolution and cognitive processes in early humans. African Homo sapiens is known to have made compound adhesives from naturally sticky substances and ochre, a technical behavior proposed to mark the advent of elaborate cognitive processes in our species. Foragers of the European Middle Paleolithic also used glues, but evidence of ochre-based compound adhesives is unknown. Here, we present evidence of this kind. Bitumen was mixed with high loads of goethite ochre to make compound adhesives at the type-site of the Mousterian, Le Moustier (France). Ochre loads were so high that they lowered the adhesive’s performance in classical hafting situations where stone implements are glued to handles. However, when used as handheld grips on cutting or scraping tools, a behavior known from Neanderthals, high-ochre adhesives present a real benefit, improving their solidity and rigidity. Our findings help understand the implications of Pleistocene adhesive making.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ochre-based compound adhesives at the Mousterian type-site document complex cognition and high investment

Schmidt,

Iovita,

Charrié-Duhaut

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

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“…The paleolithic archaeological debate about the extent of fire use by Neanderthals is not settled, but there are diverse data to support a wide variety of technological innovations focused on fire use by Neanderthals, such as producing mastics for hafting tools 62,64 . The nature of the acceleration of sites with evidence of fire from 400,000 years ago onward in Western and Central Eurasia, 126 that is, “Neanderthal territory,” supports the assertion that Neanderthals were technological pioneers up until the Upper Paleolithic transition (Figure 2).…”

Section: Neanderthal Cultural Cold Bufferingmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Experimental modeling of cave thermodynamics suggests Neanderthals were placing their hearths to maximize smoke ventilation, such as at Cueva Negra 116 or placing them under natural chimneys like at Kebara 117 . It is unlikely that some Neanderthal groups were wholly without the ability to make fire 61 when some sites have evidence of sophisticated pyrotechnical knowledge from thermodynamics 116 to the complicated production of synthetic compounds like birch pitch 62,64 …”

Section: Neanderthal Cultural Cold Bufferingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between a rock and a cold place: Neanderthal biocultural cold adaptations

Ocobock

Lacy

Niclou

2021

Evolutionary Anthropology

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A large body of work focuses on the unique aspects of Neanderthal anatomy, inferred physiology, and behavior to test the assumption that Neanderthals were hyper‐adapted to living in cold environments. This research has expanded over the years to include previously unexplored and potentially adaptive features such as brown adipose tissue and fire‐usage. Here we review the current state of knowledge of Neanderthal cold adaptations along morphological, physiological, and behavioral lines. While highlighting foundational as well as recent work, we also emphasize key areas for future research. Despite thriving in a variety of climates, it is well‐accepted that Neanderthals appear to be the most cold‐adapted of known fossil hominin groups; however, there are still many unknowns. There is a great deal yet to be uncovered about the nature and manifestation of Neanderthal adaptation and how the synergy of biology and culture helped buffer them against extreme and variable environments.

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“…This simply involves heating birch bark adjacent to, and under, a large cobble propped on its side to create an overhang. Thus, Schmidt et al (2019, 17707) argue that there was no need for the ‘cognitively demanding set up’ proposed by Kozowyk et al (2017b), with the latter using the making of birch tar as a marker of Neanderthal technological and cultural complexity (see Kozowyk et al 2020b for a response). However, it is important to stress that, to date, no direct archaeological evidence for the Palaeolithic tar-production protocol(s) used has yet been identified, meaning that these experimental methods remain hypothetical theories, unable fully to address the question of Neanderthal behavioural complexity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material and Sensory Experiences of Mesolithic Resinous Substances

Little

Needham²,

Langley³

et al. 2022

CAJ

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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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Reply to Schmidt et al.: Interpretation of Paleolithic adhesive production: Combining experimental and paleoenvironmental information

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

Ochre-based compound adhesives at the Mousterian type-site document complex cognition and high investment

Ochre-based compound adhesives at the Mousterian type-site document complex cognition and high investment

Between a rock and a cold place: Neanderthal biocultural cold adaptations

Material and Sensory Experiences of Mesolithic Resinous Substances

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