Identification of the earliest collagen- and plant-based coatings from Neolithic artefacts (Nahal Hemar cave, Israel)

Caroline Solazzo; Blandine Courel; Jacques  Connan; B E van Dongen; Holly Jones; Kirsty Penkman; Sheila Taylor; Beatrice  Demarchi; Pierre Adam; Philippe Schaeffer; Arie Nissenbaum; Ofer Bar-Yosef; Michael Buckley

doi:10.1038/srep31053

Identification of the earliest collagen- and plant-based coatings from Neolithic artefacts (Nahal Hemar cave, Israel)

Caroline Solazzo, Blandine Courel, Jacques Connan, B E van Dongen, Holly Jones, Kirsty Penkman, Sheila Taylor, Beatrice Demarchi, Pierre Adam, Philippe Schaeffer, Arie Nissenbaum, Ofer Bar-Yosef, Michael Buckley

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Abstract

Mortuary practices in human evolution record cognitive, social changes and technological innovations. The Neolithic Revolution in the Levant was a watershed in this domain that has long fascinated the archaeological community. Plaster modelled skulls are well known at Jericho and several other Neolithic sites, and in Nahal Hemar cave (Israel, ca. 8200 −7300 cal. BC) excavations yielded six unique human skulls covered with a black organic coating applied in a net pattern evoking a headdress. This small cave was used as storage for paraphernalia in the semi-arid area of the Judean desert and the dry conditions preserved other artefacts such as baskets coated with a similar dark substance. While previous analysis had revealed the presence of amino acids consistent with a collagen signature, in the present report, specific biomarkers were characterised using combined proteomic and lipid approaches. Basket samples yielded collagen and blood proteins of bovine origin (Bos genus) and a large sequence coverage of a plant protein charybdin (Charybdis genus). The skull residue samples were dominated by benzoate and cinnamate derivatives and triterpenes consistent with a styrax-type resin (Styrax officinalis), thus providing the earliest known evidence of an odoriferous plant resin used in combination with an animal product.

Original language	English
Article number	31053
Number of pages	11
Journal	Scientific Reports
Early online date	9 Aug 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31053
Publication status	Published - 2016

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srep31053Final published version, 1.04 MBLicence: CC BY

ICAL: Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life
Garwood, R. (PI), Wogelius, R. (PI), Sansom, R. (CoI), Buckley, M. (CoI), Chamberlain, A. (CoI), Manning, P. (CoI), Egerton, V. (CoI), Sellers, W. (CoI), Nudds, J. (CoI), Bulot, L. G. (CoI), Brocklehurst, R. (PGR student), Brassey, C. A. (CoI), Keating, J. (CoI), La Porta, A. (CoI), Brocklehurst, R. (PGR student), Callender-Crowe, L. (PGR student), Wallace, E. (PGR student), Chester, J. (PGR student), Davenport, J. (PGR student), Tuley, K. (PGR student), Lomax, D. (Researcher), Reeves, J. (PGR student), Smart, C. (PGR student), Ferro, C. (PGR student), Karoullas, C. (PGR student), Heath, J. (PGR student), Dickson, A. (PGR student), Austin Sydes, L. (PGR student), McLean, C. (PGR student), Harvey, V. (PGR student) & Jones, K. (PI)
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Solazzo, C., Courel, B., Connan, J., van Dongen, B. E., Jones, H., Penkman, K., Taylor, S., Demarchi, B., Adam, P., Schaeffer, P., Nissenbaum, A., Bar-Yosef, O., & Buckley, M. (2016). Identification of the earliest collagen- and plant-based coatings from Neolithic artefacts (Nahal Hemar cave, Israel). Scientific Reports, Article 31053. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31053

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title = "Identification of the earliest collagen- and plant-based coatings from Neolithic artefacts (Nahal Hemar cave, Israel)",

abstract = "Mortuary practices in human evolution record cognitive, social changes and technological innovations. The Neolithic Revolution in the Levant was a watershed in this domain that has long fascinated the archaeological community. Plaster modelled skulls are well known at Jericho and several other Neolithic sites, and in Nahal Hemar cave (Israel, ca. 8200 −7300 cal. BC) excavations yielded six unique human skulls covered with a black organic coating applied in a net pattern evoking a headdress. This small cave was used as storage for paraphernalia in the semi-arid area of the Judean desert and the dry conditions preserved other artefacts such as baskets coated with a similar dark substance. While previous analysis had revealed the presence of amino acids consistent with a collagen signature, in the present report, specific biomarkers were characterised using combined proteomic and lipid approaches. Basket samples yielded collagen and blood proteins of bovine origin (Bos genus) and a large sequence coverage of a plant protein charybdin (Charybdis genus). The skull residue samples were dominated by benzoate and cinnamate derivatives and triterpenes consistent with a styrax-type resin (Styrax officinalis), thus providing the earliest known evidence of an odoriferous plant resin used in combination with an animal product.",

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AU - Solazzo, Caroline

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AU - Connan, Jacques

AU - van Dongen, B E

AU - Jones, Holly

AU - Penkman, Kirsty

AU - Taylor, Sheila

AU - Demarchi, Beatrice

AU - Adam, Pierre

AU - Schaeffer, Philippe

AU - Nissenbaum, Arie

AU - Bar-Yosef, Ofer

AU - Buckley, Michael

PY - 2016

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N2 - Mortuary practices in human evolution record cognitive, social changes and technological innovations. The Neolithic Revolution in the Levant was a watershed in this domain that has long fascinated the archaeological community. Plaster modelled skulls are well known at Jericho and several other Neolithic sites, and in Nahal Hemar cave (Israel, ca. 8200 −7300 cal. BC) excavations yielded six unique human skulls covered with a black organic coating applied in a net pattern evoking a headdress. This small cave was used as storage for paraphernalia in the semi-arid area of the Judean desert and the dry conditions preserved other artefacts such as baskets coated with a similar dark substance. While previous analysis had revealed the presence of amino acids consistent with a collagen signature, in the present report, specific biomarkers were characterised using combined proteomic and lipid approaches. Basket samples yielded collagen and blood proteins of bovine origin (Bos genus) and a large sequence coverage of a plant protein charybdin (Charybdis genus). The skull residue samples were dominated by benzoate and cinnamate derivatives and triterpenes consistent with a styrax-type resin (Styrax officinalis), thus providing the earliest known evidence of an odoriferous plant resin used in combination with an animal product.

AB - Mortuary practices in human evolution record cognitive, social changes and technological innovations. The Neolithic Revolution in the Levant was a watershed in this domain that has long fascinated the archaeological community. Plaster modelled skulls are well known at Jericho and several other Neolithic sites, and in Nahal Hemar cave (Israel, ca. 8200 −7300 cal. BC) excavations yielded six unique human skulls covered with a black organic coating applied in a net pattern evoking a headdress. This small cave was used as storage for paraphernalia in the semi-arid area of the Judean desert and the dry conditions preserved other artefacts such as baskets coated with a similar dark substance. While previous analysis had revealed the presence of amino acids consistent with a collagen signature, in the present report, specific biomarkers were characterised using combined proteomic and lipid approaches. Basket samples yielded collagen and blood proteins of bovine origin (Bos genus) and a large sequence coverage of a plant protein charybdin (Charybdis genus). The skull residue samples were dominated by benzoate and cinnamate derivatives and triterpenes consistent with a styrax-type resin (Styrax officinalis), thus providing the earliest known evidence of an odoriferous plant resin used in combination with an animal product.

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DO - 10.1038/srep31053

M3 - Article

SN - 2045-2322

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

M1 - 31053

ER -

Identification of the earliest collagen- and plant-based coatings from Neolithic artefacts (Nahal Hemar cave, Israel)

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ICAL: Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life

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