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5. Calcite pendant from the Archaic Aurignacian level 4d1 at Isturitz. 6. Amber pendant from the Archaic Aurignacian level 4c6 at Isturitz.
Citations
... В верхнем палеолите человек современного анатомического типа активно использовал раковины для целенаправленного изготовления персональных украшений. На многих стоянках в Европе и Западной Азии, начиная с раннего верхнего палеолита, обнаруживаются, главным образом, морские раковины с отверстиями и следами красного пигмента (охры) на них (Alvarez Fernandez, 2001;Bar-Yosef Mayer 2005;Kuhn et al. 2001;Taborin 1996;White 2007;Vanhaeren, d'Errico 2006). ...
The article examines a collection of perforated shells of freshwater bivalve mollusks Corbicula from cultural layers 2 and 3 of the Upper Palaeolithic site of Rakhat. The Rakhat site was discovered in 2006, and excavations have been in progress since 2018. The site is located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau (Northern Tien Shan, Kazakhstan). The site contains 16 cultural layers dating back to ~28,000—19,000 uncal BP (~31000—23000 cal BP). Layers 2 and 3 belong to the upper part of the cultural sequence and have been radiocarbon dated to 19385 ± 40 uncal BP and 19520 ± 45 14C uncal BP (~ 23700—23300 cal BP). These layers, as well as the entire group of cultural layers 1—5, yielded an innovative lithic industry characterized by the presence of scalene triangles. The shells in question belong to the species Corbicula tibetensis Prashad, 1929. Currently, the Corbicula mollusks do not live in the rivers and lakes of the studied area. The article reconstructs the methods used to perforate shells and argues in favor of artificial origin of the red pigmentation on their surfaces. The perforated shells from Rakhat are the first finds of the Upper Palaeolithic personal ornaments in Kazakhstan.
... Despite the challenging circumstances of their recovery, analysis of these small-sized artefacts can still provide important information about prehistoric choices, lifestyles and symbolic behaviour. Preserved materials purposefully collected and used for bead production in early prehistory include, amongst others, various types of mollusc shells, bones of different animal species, stones (clay and soft ones), and wood (e.g., Taborin, 2004;White, 2007;Werker, 1988;Vanhaeren and d'Errico, 2006). We can only use our imagination while referring to ethnographical records to conditionally complement our ancestors' list of other potentially perishable raw materials used for ornamentation. ...
... Despite the wealthy opus on the ornamental research in prehistory, to date, we still miss more information on the human activities related to the complete process of marine shell ornaments' life cycle, i.e. where shells were collected and selected, where and how they were produced, used, distributed and finally discarded (Baysal and Yelözer, 2023;Rigaud et al., 2019;White et al., 2007;Cristiani et al., 2014). ...
... On-site bead production in Vlakno cave is strongly indicated by: 1. Intact shells with natural colour; 2. Intact shells with changed color; 3. Shell with the mark of perforation punch; 4. Used black shells; 5. Unused black shells; 6. Used with natural color; 7. Unused with natural color; 8. Technological mistakes. Vanhaeren and d'Errico, 2001;White, 2007), although few complex and time-consuming processes have been detected in Palaeolithic assemblage (Heckle, 2018;Wei et al., 2017;White, 1989). Standardisation in Vlakno cave is evident in both production technology and the preference for raw material in favour of C. rustica shells during the Mesolithic. ...
This paper advances knowledge of human behavioural and adaptational strategies in coastal areas related to acquiring, producing and distributing ornaments, specifically, the omnipresent marine gastropod Columbella rustica. By applying quantitative and qualitative approaches to the most extensive collection of Columbella rustica shells in the Eastern Adriatic region discovered in the Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic levels of Vlakno cave in Croatia, we have determined the complete step-by-step life cycle of this bead type, in particular, where and how shells were collected, produced, used, distributed and discarded.
... The research of systems of personal adornment, including the application of coloration in decoration technology, more than any other aspect of material culture, opens up for us an opportunity to examine the development of symbolic thinking, representing the crucial part of modern human cognition (Borić and Cristiani, 2019). There is a broad consensus among archaeologists that systems of personal ornamentation enable the construction of a diversity of social and personal identities among modern humans societies (White, 2007). ...
Research of coloring pigments and binding compounds from the Upper Palaeolithic (UP), including on portable art objects such as personal ornaments, provides new insights into social and cultural aspects of human history. However, we lack a comprehensive study of the composite pigment mixtures and binding materials that were produced intentionally and used for coloration. The study of several personal ornaments from the UP layers dated 31-23 ka calBP in Mezmaiskaya Cave, North Caucasus (Russia), shows that UP paints have a complex chemical composition. Using ATR-FTIR and SEM-EDS, we have identified that for coloring organic personal decorations UP humans used composite paint mixtures produced from organic (bitumen) and inorganic (red bolus/kaolin) natural pigments. Also, we firstly identified that UP humans applied a proteinaceous binder, likely representing a kind of the gelatine type animal glue, which they intentionally produced from animal origin materials using boiling. This is the oldest evidence of boiling placing its origin at about 30 ka within the late UP and linking this innovation to the need of producing organic binding material for dyeing rather than with the food preparation.
... Hence, the possibility that this fragmentary specimen might have been part of a bevelled point cannot be excluded a priori. Last, the recovery of two Dentalium shell ornaments testifies to such shells' role for the production of personal adornments during the Aurignacian in this region, similarly to many other areas in Europe (Clark & Riel Salvatore 2005;White 2007), and suggest contact with other groups. These shells might indicate long-distance mobility, as the Adriatic Sea is almost 400 km away. ...
The strategic geographical position of the Balkan Peninsula, at the crossroads between southwest Asia and central and western Europe, make of this territory a key area for understanding the different human migrations into Europe during the Pleistocene. This long-time neglected area for the Palaeolithic research, last years has experienced a blossoming in terms of research projects and key discoveries. Only in the past decade, sites from the Balkan Peninsula have yielded, for instance, the oldest anatomically modern human occupations in Europe, the first human remains of our species in the continent, the first confirmation of interbreeding between us and Neanderthals and evidence of Palaeolithic rock art, a phenomenon traditionally restricted to South-western Europe. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the previous data and new discoveries, addressed by an international list of contributors among the most renowned scholars developing archaeological researches in this territory. It summarises the state of the art for the Early Prehistory Archaeology of one of the most important emerging territories for the discipline.
... At some European Aurignacian (ca. 45,000-35,000 BP) sites, there are hundreds of tiny, standardized mammoth ivory beads that were likely sewn on to clothing (Kvavadze et al. 2009;Taborin 2004;White 2007; see also Wolf 2015 for a discussion of beads as identity markers in the Swabian Jura). This interpretation is supported by the recovery of approximately 15,000 highly standardized mammoth ivory beads at the Gravettian site Sunghir (Russia). ...
In this chapter, we review the archaeological evidence supporting garment production in the Paleolithic with an emphasis on hide working and the rich textile industry of the Upper Paleolithic. We argue that textiles serve as an important vehicle for exploring questions related to planning, forethought, flexibility, seasonality, communities of practice, gendered labor, intergenerational knowledge transmission, the creation of taskscapes and new ways of moving through the world.
... Although small, ornaments are particularly informative, as they are numerous, wellpreserved, diverse in form, and occur throughout the entirety of the Upper Paleolithic. Their hypothesized role as social and symbolic objects also lends insight onto intangible aspects of human cultural behavior, such as personal identity, group affiliation, language, movement, trade, and social status [8,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. ...
... During the Upper Paleolithic, ornaments were produced from a variety of organic and inorganic raw materials, including ivory, tooth, bone, shell, fossil, and stone. Those made from ivory, shells, and cervid teeth are well studied [8,10,11,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30], while fox tooth ornaments, primarily made from red (Vulpes vulpes) and arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) canines, are comparatively under-addressed. ...
Personal ornaments play an important role in our understanding of human cultural and behavioral change during the Upper Paleolithic, providing insights into intangible aspects of human cultural behavior. Some ornament forms are better studied than others, and fox tooth ornaments, despite their frequent occurrence and broad spatiotemporal span, are relatively under-addressed. Here we present the first comprehensive study of 40 perforated fox teeth recovered from four cave sites in southwestern Germany. This region's rich record of symbolic representations, as well as evidence of long-standing human-fox relationships, make the Swabian Jura an ideal case study for investigations of fox tooth ornaments. By applying a holistic approach, including geometric morphometrics and traceology coupled with experimental archaeology, we show that fox teeth were mostly perforated by bifacial scraping and grooving and were worn as ornaments. We discuss the role of foxes within human socio-symbolic and paleoenvironmental systems during the Upper Paleolithic of the Swabian Jura, and we contextualize our results within the broader context of sites across Europe during the Upper Paleolithic. The data we provide are in line with general trends observed across the continent and offer insight into the role of foxes during the Upper Paleolithic, especially regarding human subsistence, cultural expression, and ornament production.
... Hence, the possibility that this fragmentary specimen might have been part of a bevelled point cannot be excluded a priori. Last, the recovery of two Dentalium shell ornaments testifies to such shells' role for the production of personal adornments during the Aurignacian in this region, similarly to many other areas in Europe (Clark & Riel Salvatore 2005;White 2007), and suggest contact with other groups. These shells might indicate long-distance mobility, as the Adriatic Sea is almost 400 km away. ...
The strategic geographical position of the Balkan Peninsula, at the crossroads between southwest Asia and central and western Europe, make of this territory a key area for understanding the different human migrations into Europe during the Pleistocene. This long-time neglected area for the Palaeolithic research, last years has experienced a blossoming in terms of research projects and key discoveries. Only in the past decade, sites from the Balkan Peninsula have yielded, for instance, the oldest anatomically modern human occupations in Europe, the first human remains of our species in the continent, the first confirmation of interbreeding between us and Neanderthals and evidence of Palaeolithic rock art, a phenomenon traditionally restricted to South-western Europe. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the previous data and new discoveries, addressed by an international list of contributors among the most renowned scholars developing archaeological researches in this territory. It summarises the state of the art for the Early Prehistory Archaeology of one of the most important emerging territories for the discipline.
... Symbolic information can be coded in material culture, for example ethnographic and archaeological studies show that personal ornaments including scarification, body paint and beadwork, are often used to mark selfidentity and group affiliation (e.g., d 'Errico et al., 2009;Kuhn and Stiner, 2007;Marean et al., 2007;Rigaud et al., 2018;White, 1992;Wiessner, 1984;Wobst, 1977). Personal ornaments have often been used to study socially mediated behaviour in the past as they are among the few items across the range of archaeological material culture remains the function of which is entirely symbolic (e.g., d 'Errico and Stringer 2011;d'Errico and Vanhaeren 2007;Hovers and Belfer-Cohen 2006;Martínez-Moreno et al., 2010;Micheli 2021;White 2007). In this context there has been an emphasis on basket-shaped shells of the genus Tritia (e.g., Bosch et al. 2019;Bouzouggar et al. 2007;d'Errico et al. 2005d'Errico et al. , 2009Henshilwood et al. 2004;Steele et al. 2019) and bivalves of the genus Glycymeris (e.g., Bar-Yosef Mayer et al. 2009;Zilhão et al. 2010). ...
... Several authors have suggested that if evidence can be found for the intentional use of some shells, we can assume that all specimens of that taxon were collected for the same purpose (e.g., Cristiani et al. 2014;Stiner et al. 2013; see also Haynes and Stanford 1984;Lyman 2013). In fact, White (2007) has argued that the occurrence of fully intact shells is indicative of on-site bead manufacture (see also Á lvarez Fernández 2008). Identification of human modification of shells into beads is hampered by two things. ...
... We argue that the standardisation of perforation diameter (shown by the narrow inter-quartile range) in C. rustica is indicative of anthropogenic piercing (e.g., Stiner et al. 2013). Indeed, standardisation in bead perforation shape, size and distribution have been argued to signify formalised manufacture processes (e.g., d 'Errico et al. 1993;Kuhn and Stiner 2007;White 1999White , 2007 and our results are thus more congruent with human manufacture processes than solely selection of naturallyholed specimens. ...
Perforated shells are often used to study socially mediated behaviour in past hunter-gatherer groups. One of the key issues regarding empty shells from beaches or fossil outcrops is determining human agency in the accumulation and modification of an assemblage. Here we investigate anthropogenic mediation in Initial Upper Palaeolithic and Early Ahmarian assemblages of Columbella rustica at Ksâr 'Akil (Lebanon). We compare perforations in the archaeological specimens with data from newly gathered Columbellidae modern death assemblages from Tenerife (Spain) using three-dimensional shell-thickness models as templates. This approach, using micro-CT scans of pristine shells to map robust and fragile zones on shell outer-surfaces, allows us to con-textualise the two datasets within their natural morphology. Our results show that in natural death assemblages the vast majority of perforations occur in structurally weak zones, and their distribution can be explained by shell morphology in combination with predator activity and other post-mortem damage. In our archaeological dataset we found a higher frequency of perforations in more robust zones and a higher uniformity in their location, size and shape. This suggests human mediation in either the selection or manufacture process of C. rustica beads at Ksâr 'Akil from as early as the Initial Upper Palaeolithic and throughout the Early Ahmarian. Standardisation in perforation shape, size and distribution have been argued to be indicative of formalised manufacture processes and our results are thus more congruent with intentional bead manufacture than the selection of naturally-holed specimens.
... Marine shells commonly travelled over 200 kilometres, and some travelled over 1,000 kilometres. Unusual examples even include those that are made of human teeth, and are much worn, suggesting a close relationship with someone was being marked out and remembered (Spikins 2015a;White 2007). Large regions sharing similar styles of beads, and with transfers of beads across them, also suggest that people were re-enforcing a concept of 'us' that included whole communities (Vanhaeren and d'Errico 2006), much like those seen in huntergatherer ethnic communities today . ...
In Hidden Depths, Professor Penny Spikins explores how our emotional connections have shaped human ancestry. Focusing on three key transitions in human origins, Professor Spikins explains how the emotional capacities of our early ancestors evolved in response to ecological changes, much like similar changes in other social mammals. For each transition, dedicated chapters examine evolutionary pressures, responses in changes in human emotional capacities and the archaeological evidence for human social behaviours. Starting from our earliest origins, in Part One, Professor Spikins explores how after two million years ago, movement of human ancestors into a new ecological niche drove new types of collaboration, including care for vulnerable members of the group. Emotional adaptations lead to cognitive changes, as new connections based on compassion, generosity, trust and inclusion also changed our relationship to material things. Part Two explores a later key transition in human emotional capacities occurring after 300,000 years ago. At this time changes in social tolerance allowed ancestors of our own species to further reach out beyond their local group and care about distant allies, making human communities resilient to environmental changes. An increasingly close relationship to animals, and even to cherished possessions, appeared at this time, and can be explained through new human vulnerabilities and ways of seeking comfort and belonging. Lastly, Part Three focuses on the contrasts in emotional dispositions arising between ourselves and our close cousins, the Neanderthals. Neanderthals are revealed as equally caring yet emotionally different humans, who might, if things had been different, have been in our place today. This new narrative breaks away from traditional views of human evolution as exceptional or as a linear progression towards a more perfect form. Instead, our evolutionary history is situated within similar processes occurring in other mammals, and explained as one in which emotions, rather than ‘intellect’, were key to our evolutionary journey. Moreover, changes in emotional capacities and dispositions are seen as part of differing pathways each bringing strengths, weaknesses and compromises. These hidden depths provide an explanation for many of the emotional sensitivities and vulnerabilities which continue to influence our world today.
... Marine shells commonly travelled over 200 kilometres, and some travelled over 1,000 kilometres. Unusual examples even include those that are made of human teeth, and are much worn, suggesting a close relationship with someone was being marked out and remembered (Spikins 2015a;White 2007). Large regions sharing similar styles of beads, and with transfers of beads across them, also suggest that people were re-enforcing a concept of 'us' that included whole communities (Vanhaeren and d'Errico 2006), much like those seen in huntergatherer ethnic communities today (Layton, O'Hara, and Bilsborough 2012). ...
In Hidden Depths, Professor Penny Spikins explores how our emotional connections have shaped human ancestry. Focusing on three key transitions in human origins, Professor Spikins explains how the emotional capacities of our early ancestors evolved in response to ecological changes, much like similar changes in other social mammals. For each transition, dedicated chapters examine evolutionary pressures, responses in changes in human emotional capacities and the archaeological evidence for human social behaviours. Starting from our earliest origins, in Part One, Professor Spikins explores how after two million years ago, movement of human ancestors into a new ecological niche drove new types of collaboration, including care for vulnerable members of the group. Emotional adaptations lead to cognitive changes, as new connections based on compassion, generosity, trust and inclusion also changed our relationship to material things. Part Two explores a later key transition in human emotional capacities occurring after 300,000 years ago. At this time changes in social tolerance allowed ancestors of our own species to further reach out beyond their local group and care about distant allies, making human communities resilient to environmental changes. An increasingly close relationship to animals, and even to cherished possessions, appeared at this time, and can be explained through new human vulnerabilities and ways of seeking comfort and belonging. Lastly, Part Three focuses on the contrasts in emotional dispositions arising between ourselves and our close cousins, the Neanderthals. Neanderthals are revealed as equally caring yet emotionally different humans, who might, if things had been different, have been in our place today. This new narrative breaks away from traditional views of human evolution as exceptional or as a linear progression towards a more perfect form. Instead, our evolutionary history is situated within similar processes occurring in other mammals, and explained as one in which emotions, rather than ‘intellect’, were key to our evolutionary journey. Moreover, changes in emotional capacities and dispositions are seen as part of differing pathways each bringing strengths, weaknesses and compromises. These hidden depths provide an explanation for many of the emotional sensitivities and vulnerabilities which continue to influence our world today.
