The Phosphates of Pleistocene–Holocene Sediments of the Eastern Gallery of Denisova Cave

Shunkov, M.V.; Кулик, Н.А.; Козликин, М.Б.; Sokol, Ellina V.; Miroshnichenko, L. V.; Ulianov, V.A.

doi:10.1134/s1028334x18010270

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Chemical alteration features are rare in Denisova Cave. Where present, they take the form of carbonate dissolution and phosphatisation, such as that reported for the uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene layers in DCE 38 . In thin section, we observe phosphatic rinds around limestone clasts, a common occurrence in prehistoric caves when calcite reacts to phosphate-rich solutions 39–44 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Although some layers are richer than others in phosphates, including coprolites, none of those examined in thin section stands out as being excessively phosphatised. Bat and bird guano is also a possible source of cave phosphates and associated diagenetic transformations 21,38,40–51 . We did not record guano directly in thin section, but acidic water percolating through guano—in combination with coprolite-rich sediments—can dissolve calcite 21 , including the fine calcareous fraction of limestone grains and the outer surface of larger limestone fragments, to produce apatite (dahllite) rims.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Common diagenetic cave minerals (e.g., taranakite, leucophosphite, crandallite, brushite and ardealite) 48,52–55 have been recorded in the Holocene deposits and in layer 11.1 in DCE 38 . The diagenesis occurred during the Holocene and affected only the upper parts of the underlying Pleistocene sediments.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hominin and animal activities in the microstratigraphic record from Denisova Cave (Altai Mountains, Russia)

Morley

Goldberg

Uliyanov

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Denisova Cave in southern Siberia uniquely contains evidence of occupation by a recently discovered group of archaic hominins, the Denisovans, starting from the middle of the Middle Pleistocene. Artefacts, ancient DNA and a range of animal and plant remains have been recovered from the sedimentary deposits, along with a few fragmentary fossils of Denisovans, Neanderthals and a first-generation Neanderthal–Denisovan offspring. The deposits also contain microscopic traces of hominin and animal activities that can provide insights into the use of the cave over the last 300,000 years. Here we report the results of a micromorphological study of intact sediment blocks collected from the Pleistocene deposits in the Main and East Chambers of Denisova Cave. The presence of charcoal attests to the use of fire by hominins, but other evidence of their activities preserved in the microstratigraphic record are few. The ubiquitous occurrence of coprolites, which we attribute primarily to hyenas, indicates that the site was visited for much of its depositional history by cave-dwelling carnivores. Microscopic traces of post-depositional diagenesis, bioturbation and incipient cryoturbation are observed in only a few regions of the deposit examined here. Micromorphology can help identify areas of sedimentary deposit that are most conducive to ancient DNA preservation and could be usefully integrated with DNA analyses of sediments at archaeological sites to illuminate features of their human and environmental history that are invisible to the naked eye.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hominin and animal activities in the microstratigraphic record from Denisova Cave (Altai Mountains, Russia)

Morley

Goldberg

Uliyanov

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…The mineral is named in honor of Natalia Artyemovna Kulik (b. 1933) from Novosibirsk, Russia, a well-known Russian mineralogist, a reputed expert in mineralogical descriptions of granitic pegmatites [14], minerals of radioactive and rare-earth elements and archaeometry [15][16][17]. She is Emeritus Professor of Mineralogy at the Novosibirsk State University, who during the last 40 years has been teaching hundreds geologists and mineralogists, including some of the authors of this paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nataliakulikite, Ca4Ti2(Fe3+,Fe2+)(Si,Fe3+,Al)O11, a New Perovskite-Supergroup Mineral from Hatrurim Basin, Negev Desert, Israel

et al. 2019

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Nataliakulikite, Ca4Ti2(Fe3+,Fe2+)(Si,Fe3+,Al)O11, is a mineral intermediate between perovskite CaTiO3 and brownmillerite Ca2(Fe,Al)2O5. It was discovered as a minor mineral in a high-temperature pyrometamorphic larnite-gehlenite rock at the Nahal Morag Canyon of the Hatrurim Basin, Israel. Nataliakulikite is associated with larnite, flamite, gehlenite, magnesioferrite, Fe3+-rich perovskite, fluorapatite, barite, Hashemite, and retrograde phases (afwillite, hillebrandite, portlandite, calcite, ettringite, hydrogarnet, and other hydrated Ca-silicates). The mineral forms brown subhedral or prismatic grains (up to 20 µm) and their intergrowths (up to 50 μm). Its empirical formula (n = 47) is (Ca3.992Sr0.014U0.004)(Ti1.933Zr0.030Nb0.002) (Fe3+0.610Fe2+0.405Cr0.005Mn0.005)(Si0.447Fe3+0.337Al0.216)O11 and shows Si predominance in tetrahedral site. The unit-cell parameters (HRTEM data) and space group are: a = 5.254, b = 30.302, c = 5.488 Å, V = 873.7 Å3, Pnma, Z = 4. These dimensions and Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data strongly support the structural identity between nataliakulikite and synthetic Ca4Ti2Fe3+2O11 (2CaTiO3∙Ca2Fe3+2O5), an intermediate compound in the system CaTiO3-Ca2Fe3+2O5. In general, this mineral is a Si-Fe2+-rich natural analog of synthetic Ca4Ti2Fe3+2O11. The X-ray powder diffraction data (CuKα -radiation), calculated from unit-cell dimensions, show the strongest lines {d [Å], (Icalc)} at: 2.681(100), 1.898(30), 2.627(26), 2.744(23), 1.894(22), 15.151(19), 1.572(14), 3.795(8). The calculated density is 4.006 g/cm3. The crystal structure of nataliakulikite has not been refined because of small sizes of grains. The Raman spectrum shows strong bands at 128, 223, 274, 562, and 790 cm−1. Nataliakulikite from the Hatrurim Basin crystallized under the conditions of combustion metamorphism at high temperatures (1160–1200 °C) and low pressures (HT-region of the spurrite-merwinite facies).

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Timing of archaic hominin occupation of Denisova Cave in southern Siberia

Jacobs

Shunkov

et al. 2019

Nature

158

120

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The Altai region of Siberia was inhabited for parts of the Pleistocene by at least two archaic hominin groups-Denisovans and Neanderthals. Denisova Cave uniquely contains stratified deposits with the skeletal and genetic remains of both hominins, artefacts made from stone and other materials, and a range of animal and plant remains. The previous site chronology is based largely on radiocarbon ages for fragments of bone and charcoal up to 50,000 years old, with older ages of equivocal reliability estimated from thermoluminescence and palaeomagnetic analyses of sediments and genetic analyses of hominin DNA. Here we describe the stratigraphic sequences in Denisova Cave, establish a chronology for the Pleistocene deposits and associated remains from optical dating of the cave sediments, and reconstruct the environmental context to hominin occupation from around 300,000 to 20,000 years ago. The period of existence and geographical distribution of Neanderthals and their sister group, dubbed the Denisovans 1,2 , are key unresolved issues in the study of human evolution and dispersal. Denisovan remains are known only from the type locality of Denisova Cave, which is located in the foothills of the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia (51°23′51.3′′N, 84°40′34.3′′E; Fig. 1a). Neanderthal remains have also been recovered from the cave deposits.

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The Phosphates of Pleistocene–Holocene Sediments of the Eastern Gallery of Denisova Cave

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

Hominin and animal activities in the microstratigraphic record from Denisova Cave (Altai Mountains, Russia)

Hominin and animal activities in the microstratigraphic record from Denisova Cave (Altai Mountains, Russia)

Nataliakulikite, Ca4Ti2(Fe3+,Fe2+)(Si,Fe3+,Al)O11, a New Perovskite-Supergroup Mineral from Hatrurim Basin, Negev Desert, Israel

Timing of archaic hominin occupation of Denisova Cave in southern Siberia

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