Identifying Palaeolithic birch tar production techniques: challenges from an experimental biomolecular approach.

ABSTRACT: The intentional production of birch bark tar by European Neanderthals as early as 190,000 years ago plays an important role in discussions about the technological and behavioural complexity of Pleistocene hominins. However, research is hampered because it is currently unknown how Neanderthals were producing birch tar. There are several different techniques that could have been employed, but these differ in their apparent production complexity, time and resource efficiency. Identifying production processes in the archaeological record is therefore paramount for furthering research on the technical behavioural repertoire. Organic biomarkers, identified with Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), have been used to identify possible production processes during the Neolithic. Here we test

SUBMITTER: Kozowyk PRB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10485052 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature