PREPHIRES · Prehistoric pyrotechnology: insights on hominid behavior from high resolution study of combustion features
6РП — Действия „Мария Кюри“
- Период
- 2006-11-01 → 2009-10-31
- Финансиране от ЕС
- 355 256 €
- Участници
- 2
- Схема
- OIF
Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите. За проекти отпреди 2014 г. CORDIS не винаги дава точни координати. Тези точки са на ниво град или държава.
Накратко на български
Начинът, по който неандерталците са управлявали огъня, се анализира чрез състава на пепелта, остатъци от растения и кости. Това помага да се разберат различните ежедневни дейности и стратегии за оцеляване на тези хора.
Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.
Резултати накратко
Final Activity Report Summary - PREPHIRES (Prehistoric pyrotechnology: insights on hominid behavior from high resolution study of combustion features)
The main aim of this research is to investigate how Neanderthals managed their fires during the Middle Paleolithic. We therefore identified and characterized the components of the ashes of well-preserved combustion features from several Neanderthals sites in Europe and the Near East. The components investigated include: plant remains (charcoal and phytolits), other charred materials (fat derived), bones, and soil inclusions. We analysed the morphology of these components and characterized their material properties by using in situ molecular and crystallographic techniques. Thus we produced evidence of fuel composition, combustion conditions and fire duration. Then by integrating this microscopic evidence with the macroscopic morphological observations (e.g. shape, dimensions and location of the hearths; the number and thickness of the ash levels, associated stone tools and faunal assemblage, etc.) we defined the usage scenario that best fitted the evidence. We found that there is large variability amongst the combustion features of a single cave and/or at different sites. These findings not surprisingly demonstrate that Homo Neanderthalensis used fire for many different activities. In fact at Kebara cave (Mount Carmel, Israel) hearths varied in size and in refuelling episodes with wood being the main fuel. Ash were clearly removed from the hearths and dumped against the wall of the cave. In the Perigorde (France) coeval Neanderthals groups show totally different fire management strategies. In fact, at Pech de l'Aze scattered hearths were fuelled with significant amounts of bones while at Roc de Marsal (20km away) hearths were well confined and fueled mainly with plant material. We described a similar situation at Oscurusciutu rock shelter in Apulia (Italy) where we also found some indication of ash removal from the hearths. In conclusion we described the characteristics of Neanderthal combustion features with a level of resolution that was never done before contributing importantly to the reconstruction of the life of this important group of hominin.
Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз
Цел на проекта
The use of fire is one of the fundamental aspects of human behavior. The beginning of pyrotechnology, the mastering of fire by humans, is still a hotly debated issue in anthropology and archaeology. Micromorphological studies of prehistoric combustion features showed that some of these features are products of discernible individual and repeated burning events that took place in the same spot. Thus these features represent a sequence of in situ short-term individual actions and constitute a discernible instantaneous facet of prehistoric human behaviours.The broad objective of this project is the development of multi-analytical protocols to study thin sections of intact, undisturbed prehistoric combustion features. We believe that this approach will maximize the information related to prehistoric pyrotechnologies maintaining the highest degree of spatial and temporal resolution and contextuality. The specific objective of this research is to develop a combined FTIR-microspectroscopy and in situ XRD, protocol t o determine the burning temperature of silicate particles included in the prehistoric combustion feature. With FTIR microspectroscopy it is possible to observe the sample with the microscope and focus on a particle as small as 50 um and analyse it. With in situ XRD it is possible to insert the thin section slide into a Difractometer and analyse a particle as small as few hundreds um.The proposed research will be integrating part of a project conducted by a team of European and American scholars that will perform a multidisciplinary investigation on the same set of thin sections of combusted features from very important French and Israeli Paleolithic sites. The team will obtain the largest possible number of independent evidences maintaining the contextual integrity of each analytical technique within the true space of the deposits. This will allow for direct comparisons among combustion features of different types and/or from different Paleolithic periods.
Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).
Участници
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO · MILANOКоординаторИталия
- BOSTON UNIVERSITY - DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY · BOSTON, MAНиво градСъединени щати
Връзки
Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз