Archaeologists have discovered ancient tubular beads made from hare bone at the La Prele mammoth site in Wyoming, USA. This is the oldest bead discovered in the Western Hemisphere.
La Prele bone beads. Polished end (top) and side view with notch (bottom). Image credit: Surovell other., doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-53390-9.
“The manufacture and use of personal ornaments, most commonly beads, is an important indicator of the increasing cultural and social complexity of humans during the Paleolithic period, first appearing in the Middle Stone Age of Africa. It then appeared in the Early Upper Paleolithic of Eurasia,” says the University of Wisconsin. Wyoming Professor Todd Surovell and his colleagues.
“Beads are not well documented from early archaeological contexts in the Americas, but some examples have been reported from Paleoindian regions, where the first immigrants to the Western Hemisphere used beads on their bodies and clothing. It shows that he created and used personal ornaments to decorate his home.”
Archaeologists examined ancient tubular beads from an active area centered around a hearth at the La Prele Mammoth ruins in Converse County, Wyoming, USA.
“The La Prele Mammoth Site is an early Paleoindian site located along La Prele Creek near its confluence with the North Platte River in Converse County, Wyoming,” they said.
“Test excavations in 1987 revealed an association between the chipped stone remains and the partial remains of a subadult.” Colombian mammoth (mammoth colombi)Subsequent excavations revealed that a nearby campsite preserved active areas centered around multiple hearths. ”
“The occupied surface was filled with low-energy dyke deposits, and based on an average of five radiocarbon dates of the bones, occupation occurred 12,941 years ago.”
The length of the beads is small, about 7mm. The inner diameter averages 1.6 mm and the outer diameter averages 2.9 mm.
“Two deep parallel grooves with a U-shaped cross section develop on the surface of the bead aligned perpendicular to the long axis,” the researchers said.
“Similar grooves also occur on Paleolithic and Archaic tubular bone beads, although it is unclear whether these notches are a byproduct of manufacturing, skinning, abrasion, or perhaps decoration. It's very smooth and polished.”
“The beads are lightly coated with red ocher, but the presence of ocher on the surface may be coincidental since they were recovered from a sediment contaminated with powdered hematite.”
To determine the origin of the beads, scientists extracted collagen for zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry, also known as ZooMS. This allowed us to gain insight into the chemical composition of bone.
Researchers believe that the beads are attached to either the metatarsals (the bones that connect the phalanges of the fingers to the more proximal bones of the limbs) or the proximal phalanges (the bones found in the fingers and toes of humans and other vertebrates). I concluded that it was made from either. rabbit.
The discovery provides the first solid evidence of the use of hares in BC. Clovis periodspecifically refers to the prehistoric period of North America, about 12,000 years ago.
“We also considered the possibility that the beads were the result of consumption and digestion by carnivores and were not produced by humans,” the authors said.
“However, carnivores are not common at this site, and the artifacts were recovered one meter away from a densely scattered area of other cultural materials.”
“Additionally, the grooves on the outside of the beads are consistent with those made by humans with stones and teeth.”
“Such beads may have been used to decorate their bodies or clothing.”
of findings It was published in the magazine scientific report.
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TA Slovel other. 2024. Rabbit bones are used to make Clovis beads. science officer 14/2937. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-53390-9
Source: www.sci.news
