First evidence of Pleistocene ochre production from bacteriogenic iron oxides. A case study of the Upper Palaeolithic site at the San Teodoro Cave (Sicily, Italy)

被引:11
|
作者
Garilli, Vittorio [1 ]
Vita, Gerlando [2 ]
La Parola, Valeria [3 ]
Vraca, Massimiliana Pinto [4 ]
Giarrusso, Renato [5 ]
Rosina, Pierluigi [6 ,7 ]
Bonfiglio, Laura [8 ]
Sineo, Luca [9 ]
机构
[1] PaleoSofia APEMA, Res & Educ Serv, Viale Principessa Iolanda 29, I-90149 Palermo, Italy
[2] Rovira & Virgili Univ, Dept Hist & Hist Art, Tarragona, Spain
[3] CNR, Ist Studio Mat Nanostrutturati ISMN, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, I-90144 Palermo, Italy
[4] Via Montello 16, I-98070 Castellumberto, Italy
[5] Geolab Srl, Carini, Italy
[6] Coimbra Univ, Polytech Inst Tomar, U ID73 FCT, Coimbra, Portugal
[7] Coimbra Univ, Geosci Ctr, U ID73 FCT, Coimbra, Portugal
[8] Univ Messina, Museo Fauna, Messina, Italy
[9] Univ Palermo, Dipartimento Sci & Tecnol Biol, Chim & Farmaceut STEBICEF, Palermo, Italy
关键词
Palaeolithic ochre; Iron-oxidising bacteria; Provenance source; San Teodoro Cave; Late Epigravettian; Mediterranean; EL MIRON CAVE; RED OCHRE; PHOSPHORUS MOBILIZATION; OXIDIZING BACTERIA; MOUNT-CARMEL; ROCK-SHELTER; SOUTH-AFRICA; BURIAL; AGE; PIGMENTS;
D O I
10.1016/j.jas.2020.105221
中图分类号
Q98 [人类学];
学科分类号
030303 ;
摘要
The use of iron pigments is well documented in the archaeological horizons of the different parts of the world since the Middle Pleistocene. The mineralogical and chemical composition of the pigments allowed defining, in most cases, their inorganic origin, which were then used after a limited transformation and manipulation. The use of a biogenic ochraceous pigment and its manipulation has recently been described in a late Holocene archaeological horizon of the American continent. Here we describe the earliest case of archaeological use of ferrous pigment produced by iron-oxidising bacteria (FeOB), the first identified in a European Epigravettian (late Upper Palaeolithic) layer, at the San Teodoro site in Sicily, Italy. Samples of the ochraceous archaeological deposit, overlying a large burial site, were analysed ac-cording to current methods of physical analysis and SEM highlighting a matrix of bacterial structures and a chemical composition coherent with biogenic productions. The physical-chemical analysis of the archaeological material from the Palaeolithic site, and of the modern bacteriogenic iron sediments from two close springs gave consistent results even after heat treatment. In absence of Terra Rossa or other easily available inorganic ferrous materials in the hinterland of their site, the hunter-gatherers identified several possible water sources rich of pigment used for covering a multiple burial. The implications of these results influence interpretations of the ecology of the late-glacial and Epigravettian sites in Europe, especially in relation to problems such as the increasing complexity of behaviours, the need to establish rituals and the search for materials.
引用
收藏
页数:16
相关论文
共 3 条
  • [1] Petrographic characterization of quartzite tools from the Palaeolithic site of San Teodoro cave (Sicily): Study on the provenance of lithic raw materials
    Vita, Gerlando
    Forgia, Vincenza
    Vraca, Massimiliana Pinto
    Calabrese, Nunziatina
    Divita, Daniela
    Sineo, Luca
    [J]. JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE-REPORTS, 2022, 45
  • [2] First finding of a partially articulated elephant skeleton from a Late Pleistocene hyena den in Sicily (San Teodoro Cave, North Eastern Sicily, Italy)
    Mangano, Gabriella
    Bonfiglio, Laura
    [J]. QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL, 2012, 276 : 53 - 60
  • [3] From sepulchre to butchery -cooking: Facies analysis, taphonomy and stratigraphy of the Upper Palaeolithic post burial layer from the San Teodoro Cave (NE Sicily) reveal change in the use of the site
    Garilli, Vittorio
    Vita, Gerlando
    Mulone, Angelo
    Bonfiglio, Laura
    Sineo, Luca
    [J]. JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE-REPORTS, 2020, 30