Dataset Information

Earliest evidence of Neanderthal multifunctional bone tool production from cave lion (Panthera spelaea) remains

ABSTRACT: Scladina Cave, a key Middle Paleolithic site in Belgium, has yielded the earliest documented evidence of Neanderthals using cave lion bones as tools. This study focuses on stratigraphic Unit 5 (MIS 6), where four bone retouchers were identified. The diaphyseal fragment of the tibia reconstituted using two of the retouchers shows prior use as an intermediate tool (chisel) before being deliberately fractured and each of the fragments used separately as a retoucher. These tools display typical use-wear patterns made on fresh bones. ZooMS and LC-MS/MS analysis confirmed their identification as cave lion bones. Despite their well-documented coexistence and likely competition, evidence of interaction between these two predators is rare. The deliberate exploitation of cave lion remains at Scladina Cave suggests a complex relationship between Neanderthals and large carnivores. This behavior parallels their exploitation of cave bears, evidenced by anthropogenic modifications. The presence of cut marks and intentional modifications on relatively fresh carcasses indicates that Neanderthals knowingly utilized remains of their ecological competitors.

INSTRUMENT(S):

ORGANISM(S): Rhinocerotidae Panthera Spelaea Ursus Spelaeus Bos Primigenius

TISSUE(S): Bone

SUBMITTER: BRAY FABRICE

LAB HEAD: fabrice bray

PROVIDER: PXD055624 | Pride | 2025-07-04

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Project description:For a long time, Neanderthals were considered hunters of large mammals, whereas the diversification of the exploited faunal spectrum to include smaller taxa, including birds, was assumed to be specific to anatomically modern humans. In recent decades, archaeozoological analyses of faunal remains from layers associated with Middle Palaeolithic lithic industries have revealed traces of human manipulation of small taxa, indicating the exploitation of a wider range of animals than previously thought, including small or fast-moving animals such as molluscs, leporids and birds. These new data have challenged the view that Neanderthals did not exploit small animals, thereby narrowing the behavioral gap with anatomically modern humans. Nevertheless, the information currently available comes almost exclusively from southern Europe and the nature of Neanderthal small fauna exploitation in northern Europe remains largely unknown. The present study aims to fill this gap by applying archaeozoological methods, including detailed taphonomic and traceological analyses, to 118 bird remains recovered from levels containing Middle Palaeolithic industries at Scladina cave, southern Belgium. Analyses of proteomics were applied to clarify the taxonomic identity of two morphologically non-diagnostic elements. Compared to mammal remains, bird bones, most of which belong to the order Galliformes, are scarce at Scladina Cave. This is likely due to conservation bias. Traces of non-human predators or scavengers, suggest that mammalian carnivores are responsible for accumulating a considerable portion of the avian assemblage. In total, seven bird bones exhibit anthropogenic traces, and one element presents questionable traces. Various Galliformes and a cormorant were exploited likely for their meat, during MIS 5 and/or 6 and MIS 6. The terminal posterior phalanx (talon) of a raptor of the size of a pomarine eagle displays intense polishing that could be linked to human manipulation of this element (MIS 5 and/or 6), although in the absence of tool marks this remains hypothetical at this stage. On the radius of a Western capercaillie, two deep incisions may indicate bone working, and intense use-wear on one of the fractured ends indicates that the bone has been utilized, potentially on soft organic material (MIS 6). This study provides the first evidence of the exploitation of birds during the Middle Palaeolithic in Belgium and constitutes the only detailed archaeozoological analysis of bird material in northwestern Europe. The likely transformation and use of a bird bone is only the second example recovered from Neanderthal occupations. The novel taxa identified as Neanderthal prey highlight the plasticity of Neanderthal ecological behavior, adapting to different landscapes and climates and exploiting the full spectrum of locally available prey.

Project description:Groupers (Epinephelidae) are ecologically, commercially, and culturally important predatory fishes throughout their global distribution range in tropical, subtropical and occasionally temperate regions. They are key species for modern and ancient fisheries in the Mediterranean which have been heavily overfished in the past century leading to smaller catch sizes, lower CPUE, and decreased biomass. There are four species of grouper native to the Mediterranean within the Epinephelus genus.The abundance and distribution of grouper species prior to the 20th century in the Mediterranean remains poorly known. Using peptide mass fingerprinting, also known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), we investigated if ZooMS is a viable method for identifying intra-genus grouper bones to species level. Due to the lack of publicly available genomic sequences and for validation of ZooMS markers, we reconstructed collagen type I amino acid sequences using LC-MS/MS for four Epinephelus spp. Adequate variation between collagen sequences enabled the production of the best supported phylogenetic tree for Mediterranean Epinephelus spp. to date. We identified 23 previously undescribed ZooMS biomarkers capable of distinguishing groupers to the species level. Our novel biomarkers were applied to a case study of 23 grouper/comber fish bones from the Middle to Late Holocene archaeological site of Kinet Höyük, located along the coast of Iskenderun Bay, Turkey. ZooMS markers enabled species level identification of 19 bones with 18 identified as Epinephelus aeneus and 1 identified as Epinephelus marginatus. Combining ZooMS identifications with catch size reconstructions has revealed that E. aeneus is capable of growing ca. 30 cm larger than previously reported. This abundance and dominance of E. aeneus locally at Kinet Höyük is consistent with E. aeneus being the most prevalent grouper species in Iskenderun Bay today, testifying to several millennia of this species local population persistence despite fishing pressure, habitat degradation, and climatic changes.

Project description:Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has become a standard clinical tool for microbial identification. Its utilization in clinical microbiology laboratories keeps expanding from basic identifications towards detecting antibiotic resistance and microbial toxins. Clostridiodes difficile represents an emerging bacterial pathogen causing severe gastrointestinal infection associated with antibiotic therapy affecting normal gut microbiota. The virulence of C. difficile is mainly caused by two toxins, namely Toxin A and Toxin B. Established diagnostic methods, including PCR and enzyme-linked immunoassays, detect either the presence of the microorganism itself or the presence and concentration of the toxins, with only limited ability to gauge infection severity and evaluate the actual biochemical activity of the toxins and their potency to cause harm. This work addresses the infection severity using the functional activity detection of C. difficile toxins by MALDI-TOF MS assay performed on affinity MALDI chips. The MALDI chips are modified using ambient ion landing technology with an array of immobilized Neutralite Avidin (NeutrAvidin) spots that allow secondary immobilization of biotin-tagged recombinant RhoA, and this protein is a substrate for the Clostridiodes difficile toxin’s enzymatic activity. Monitoring mass shift due to the in-vitro glycosylation of the RhoA in the MALDI-TOF mass spectrum provides information about the Toxin’s B activity in the sample. The assay was used to analyze 20 samples of patients suspected of C. difficile infection and compared with the results obtained by standard methods. Observing the Toxin B activity, rather than the concentration, enhances diagnostic efficiency and offers valuable information about infection potency without the extensive resources required by reference methods like stool cytotoxicity assay and toxigenic culture. The presented assay is a representative example of analytical chemistry helping clinical microbiology achieve modern symptom-based diagnostics.

			Action	DRS
	1933-310-15-B.raw	Raw
	1933-310-15-D.raw	Raw
	1982-348-24-D.raw	Raw
	1982-348-24-O.raw	Raw
	1982-348-24.7z	Other

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Earliest evidence of Neanderthal multifunctional bone tool production from cave lion (Panthera spelaea) remains

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