Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

Marta Frances-Negro; Eneko Iriarte; M.A. Galindo-Pellicena; A. Carrancho; A. Pérez-Romero; Pascale Gerbault; Juan-Luis Arsuaga; J.M. Carretero; Mélanie  Roffet-Salque

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380

Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

Marta Frances-Negro, Eneko Iriarte, M.A. Galindo-Pellicena, A. Carrancho, A. Pérez-Romero, Pascale Gerbault, Juan-Luis Arsuaga, J.M. Carretero, Mélanie Roffet-Salque^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

180 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

El Portalón de Cueva Mayor located in the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Atapuerca, is a unique reference Late Prehistory archaeological site in the Iberian Peninsula, covering some 7 kyr of Holocene occupations. Herein we present the study of lipid residue analyses from 108 pottery sherds coupled with faunal kill-off patterns from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods to gain new insights into natural product exploitation and animal management. The molecular and isotopic analyses of lipid extracts provide evidence for the use of carcass and dairy products at the site. The construction of kill-off profiles for the ovicaprids (sheep/goat) and bovines (cattle) provide complementary insights into animal management at the site, suggesting that both bovines and ovicaprids were exploited for their milk. The diachronic evolution of identified products show no major variations in livestock husbandry or diet due to cultural or environmental change. Changing uses and different activities at the cave over time (domestic, funerary, etc.) are likely responsible for the subtle differences identified in the results. This study provides the first insights into human subsistence strategies through time at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor.

Original language	English
Article number	105380
Number of pages	15
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science
Volume	131
Early online date	29 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
M.F.N. is supported by a grant from Junta de Castilla y León ( ORDEN/EDU1083/2013 )- Programa Operativo Fondo Social Europeo 2014–2020. M.A.G-P. has a technical support staff contract ( PTA 2018-015145-I ) from Fundación General de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares-Museo Arqueológico Regional (MAR) financed by Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividadad. This study has been financed by the research Project CGL 2012-38434-C03-01/02/03 and PGC 2018-093925-B-C33 of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and the ERC Advanced Grant “NeoMilk” ( FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202 ). We thank The Royal Society for funding a fellowship to M.R.S ( DHF\R1\180064 and RGF\EA\181067 ). A.C. acknowledges the funding of Junta de Castilla y Leon (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (project BU235P18 ) and the project PID 2019-105796 GB-I00 of the Agencia Estatal de Investigación ( AEI/10.13039/501100011033 ). NERC (Reference: CC010) and NEIF ( www.isotopesuk.org ) are thanked for funding and maintenance of the GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS instruments used for this work. We also thank Helen Grant of the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (Lancaster node) for stable isotopic characterisation of reference standards and derivatising agents. We would like to thank the Museo de Burgos for access to the material. Special thanks to the research team at the Organic Geochemistry Unit (University of Bristol), to El Portalón de Cueva Mayor excavation team and colleagues from the Laboratorio de Evolución Humana (Universidad de Burgos). Fundación Atapuerca for technical support. R code is available upon request to P.G. ( [email protected] ). We would like to thank R.P. Evershed for welcoming M.F.N in the Organic Geochemistry Unit and for his feedback on manuscript drafts.

Funding Information:
M.F.N. is supported by a grant from Junta de Castilla y Le?n (ORDEN/EDU1083/2013)-Programa Operativo Fondo Social Europeo 2014?2020. M.A.G-P. has a technical support staff contract (PTA 2018-015145-I) from Fundaci?n General de la Universidad de Alcal? de Henares-Museo Arqueol?gico Regional (MAR) financed by Ministerio de Econom?a, Industria y Competitividadad. This study has been financed by the research Project CGL 2012-38434-C03-01/02/03 and PGC 2018-093925-B-C33 of the Ministerio de Econom?a y Competitividad and the ERC Advanced Grant ?NeoMilk? (FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202). We thank The Royal Society for funding a fellowship to M.R.S (DHF\R1\180064 and RGF\EA\181067). A.C. acknowledges the funding of Junta de Castilla y Leon (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (project BU235P18) and the project PID 2019-105796 GB-I00 of the Agencia Estatal de Investigaci?n (AEI/10.13039/501100011033). NERC (Reference: CC010) and NEIF (www.isotopesuk.org) are thanked for funding and maintenance of the GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS instruments used for this work. We also thank Helen Grant of the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (Lancaster node) for stable isotopic characterisation of reference standards and derivatising agents. We would like to thank the Museo de Burgos for access to the material. Special thanks to the research team at the Organic Geochemistry Unit (University of Bristol), to El Portal?n de Cueva Mayor excavation team and colleagues from the Laboratorio de Evoluci?n Humana (Universidad de Burgos). Fundaci?n Atapuerca for technical support. R code is available upon request to P.G. ([email protected]). We would like to thank R.P. Evershed for welcoming M.F.N in the Organic Geochemistry Unit and for his feedback on manuscript drafts.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

Research Groups and Themes

Organic & Biological

Keywords

Pottery
fatty acids
δ 13C values
archaeozoology
kill-off patterns
Neolithic
Chalcolithic
Bronze Age
El Portalón de Cueva Mayor site
Spain

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10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380

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This is the author accepted manuscript (AAM). The final published version (version of record) is available online via Elsevier at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380 . Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.
Accepted author manuscript, 2.08 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

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RS Dorothy Hodgkin
Roffet-Salque, M. (Principal Investigator)
1/01/19 → 31/03/25
Project: Research
Investigating the Routing of Hydrogen from Feed and Drinking Water to Ruminant Tissues
Roffet-Salque, M. (Principal Investigator)
1/10/18 → 30/09/22
Project: Research

Cite this

Frances-Negro, M., Iriarte, E., Galindo-Pellicena, M. A., Carrancho, A., Pérez-Romero, A., Gerbault, P., Arsuaga, J.-L., Carretero, J. M., & Roffet-Salque, M. (2021). Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Journal of Archaeological Science, 131, Article 105380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380

@article{5e9b5f3fce3249ddab1ef5e10db58906,

title = "Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portal{\'o}n de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)",

abstract = "El Portal{\'o}n de Cueva Mayor located in the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Atapuerca, is a unique reference Late Prehistory archaeological site in the Iberian Peninsula, covering some 7 kyr of Holocene occupations. Herein we present the study of lipid residue analyses from 108 pottery sherds coupled with faunal kill-off patterns from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods to gain new insights into natural product exploitation and animal management. The molecular and isotopic analyses of lipid extracts provide evidence for the use of carcass and dairy products at the site. The construction of kill-off profiles for the ovicaprids (sheep/goat) and bovines (cattle) provide complementary insights into animal management at the site, suggesting that both bovines and ovicaprids were exploited for their milk. The diachronic evolution of identified products show no major variations in livestock husbandry or diet due to cultural or environmental change. Changing uses and different activities at the cave over time (domestic, funerary, etc.) are likely responsible for the subtle differences identified in the results. This study provides the first insights into human subsistence strategies through time at El Portal{\'o}n de Cueva Mayor.",

keywords = "Pottery, fatty acids, δ 13C values, archaeozoology, kill-off patterns, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, El Portal{\'o}n de Cueva Mayor site, Spain",

author = "Marta Frances-Negro and Eneko Iriarte and M.A. Galindo-Pellicena and A. Carrancho and A. P{\'e}rez-Romero and Pascale Gerbault and Juan-Luis Arsuaga and J.M. Carretero and M{\'e}lanie Roffet-Salque",

note = "Funding Information: M.F.N. is supported by a grant from Junta de Castilla y Le{\'o}n ( ORDEN/EDU1083/2013 )- Programa Operativo Fondo Social Europeo 2014–2020. M.A.G-P. has a technical support staff contract ( PTA 2018-015145-I ) from Fundaci{\'o}n General de la Universidad de Alcal{\'a} de Henares-Museo Arqueol{\'o}gico Regional (MAR) financed by Ministerio de Econom{\'i}a, Industria y Competitividadad. This study has been financed by the research Project CGL 2012-38434-C03-01/02/03 and PGC 2018-093925-B-C33 of the Ministerio de Econom{\'i}a y Competitividad and the ERC Advanced Grant “NeoMilk” ( FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202 ). We thank The Royal Society for funding a fellowship to M.R.S ( DHF\textbackslash{}R1\textbackslash{}180064 and RGF\textbackslash{}EA\textbackslash{}181067 ). A.C. acknowledges the funding of Junta de Castilla y Leon (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (project BU235P18 ) and the project PID 2019-105796 GB-I00 of the Agencia Estatal de Investigaci{\'o}n ( AEI/10.13039/501100011033 ). NERC (Reference: CC010) and NEIF ( www.isotopesuk.org ) are thanked for funding and maintenance of the GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS instruments used for this work. We also thank Helen Grant of the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (Lancaster node) for stable isotopic characterisation of reference standards and derivatising agents. We would like to thank the Museo de Burgos for access to the material. Special thanks to the research team at the Organic Geochemistry Unit (University of Bristol), to El Portal{\'o}n de Cueva Mayor excavation team and colleagues from the Laboratorio de Evoluci{\'o}n Humana (Universidad de Burgos). Fundaci{\'o}n Atapuerca for technical support. R code is available upon request to P.G. ( [email protected] ). We would like to thank R.P. Evershed for welcoming M.F.N in the Organic Geochemistry Unit and for his feedback on manuscript drafts. Funding Information: M.F.N. is supported by a grant from Junta de Castilla y Le?n (ORDEN/EDU1083/2013)-Programa Operativo Fondo Social Europeo 2014?2020. M.A.G-P. has a technical support staff contract (PTA 2018-015145-I) from Fundaci?n General de la Universidad de Alcal? de Henares-Museo Arqueol?gico Regional (MAR) financed by Ministerio de Econom?a, Industria y Competitividadad. This study has been financed by the research Project CGL 2012-38434-C03-01/02/03 and PGC 2018-093925-B-C33 of the Ministerio de Econom?a y Competitividad and the ERC Advanced Grant ?NeoMilk? (FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202). We thank The Royal Society for funding a fellowship to M.R.S (DHF\textbackslash{}R1\textbackslash{}180064 and RGF\textbackslash{}EA\textbackslash{}181067). A.C. acknowledges the funding of Junta de Castilla y Leon (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (project BU235P18) and the project PID 2019-105796 GB-I00 of the Agencia Estatal de Investigaci?n (AEI/10.13039/501100011033). NERC (Reference: CC010) and NEIF (www.isotopesuk.org) are thanked for funding and maintenance of the GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS instruments used for this work. We also thank Helen Grant of the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (Lancaster node) for stable isotopic characterisation of reference standards and derivatising agents. We would like to thank the Museo de Burgos for access to the material. Special thanks to the research team at the Organic Geochemistry Unit (University of Bristol), to El Portal?n de Cueva Mayor excavation team and colleagues from the Laboratorio de Evoluci?n Humana (Universidad de Burgos). Fundaci?n Atapuerca for technical support. R code is available upon request to P.G. ([email protected]). We would like to thank R.P. Evershed for welcoming M.F.N in the Organic Geochemistry Unit and for his feedback on manuscript drafts. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021",

year = "2021",

month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380",

language = "English",

volume = "131",

journal = "Journal of Archaeological Science",

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Frances-Negro, M, Iriarte, E, Galindo-Pellicena, MA, Carrancho, A, Pérez-Romero, A, Gerbault, P, Arsuaga, J-L, Carretero, JM & Roffet-Salque, M 2021, 'Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)', Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 131, 105380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380

Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). / Frances-Negro, Marta; Iriarte, Eneko; Galindo-Pellicena, M.A. et al.
In: Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol. 131, 105380, 01.07.2021.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

AU - Frances-Negro, Marta

AU - Iriarte, Eneko

AU - Galindo-Pellicena, M.A.

AU - Carrancho, A.

AU - Pérez-Romero, A.

AU - Gerbault, Pascale

AU - Arsuaga, Juan-Luis

AU - Carretero, J.M.

AU - Roffet-Salque, Mélanie

N1 - Funding Information: M.F.N. is supported by a grant from Junta de Castilla y León ( ORDEN/EDU1083/2013 )- Programa Operativo Fondo Social Europeo 2014–2020. M.A.G-P. has a technical support staff contract ( PTA 2018-015145-I ) from Fundación General de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares-Museo Arqueológico Regional (MAR) financed by Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividadad. This study has been financed by the research Project CGL 2012-38434-C03-01/02/03 and PGC 2018-093925-B-C33 of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and the ERC Advanced Grant “NeoMilk” ( FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202 ). We thank The Royal Society for funding a fellowship to M.R.S ( DHF\R1\180064 and RGF\EA\181067 ). A.C. acknowledges the funding of Junta de Castilla y Leon (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (project BU235P18 ) and the project PID 2019-105796 GB-I00 of the Agencia Estatal de Investigación ( AEI/10.13039/501100011033 ). NERC (Reference: CC010) and NEIF ( www.isotopesuk.org ) are thanked for funding and maintenance of the GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS instruments used for this work. We also thank Helen Grant of the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (Lancaster node) for stable isotopic characterisation of reference standards and derivatising agents. We would like to thank the Museo de Burgos for access to the material. Special thanks to the research team at the Organic Geochemistry Unit (University of Bristol), to El Portalón de Cueva Mayor excavation team and colleagues from the Laboratorio de Evolución Humana (Universidad de Burgos). Fundación Atapuerca for technical support. R code is available upon request to P.G. ( [email protected] ). We would like to thank R.P. Evershed for welcoming M.F.N in the Organic Geochemistry Unit and for his feedback on manuscript drafts. Funding Information: M.F.N. is supported by a grant from Junta de Castilla y Le?n (ORDEN/EDU1083/2013)-Programa Operativo Fondo Social Europeo 2014?2020. M.A.G-P. has a technical support staff contract (PTA 2018-015145-I) from Fundaci?n General de la Universidad de Alcal? de Henares-Museo Arqueol?gico Regional (MAR) financed by Ministerio de Econom?a, Industria y Competitividadad. This study has been financed by the research Project CGL 2012-38434-C03-01/02/03 and PGC 2018-093925-B-C33 of the Ministerio de Econom?a y Competitividad and the ERC Advanced Grant ?NeoMilk? (FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202). We thank The Royal Society for funding a fellowship to M.R.S (DHF\R1\180064 and RGF\EA\181067). A.C. acknowledges the funding of Junta de Castilla y Leon (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (project BU235P18) and the project PID 2019-105796 GB-I00 of the Agencia Estatal de Investigaci?n (AEI/10.13039/501100011033). NERC (Reference: CC010) and NEIF (www.isotopesuk.org) are thanked for funding and maintenance of the GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS instruments used for this work. We also thank Helen Grant of the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (Lancaster node) for stable isotopic characterisation of reference standards and derivatising agents. We would like to thank the Museo de Burgos for access to the material. Special thanks to the research team at the Organic Geochemistry Unit (University of Bristol), to El Portal?n de Cueva Mayor excavation team and colleagues from the Laboratorio de Evoluci?n Humana (Universidad de Burgos). Fundaci?n Atapuerca for technical support. R code is available upon request to P.G. ([email protected]). We would like to thank R.P. Evershed for welcoming M.F.N in the Organic Geochemistry Unit and for his feedback on manuscript drafts. Publisher Copyright: © 2021

PY - 2021/7/1

Y1 - 2021/7/1

N2 - El Portalón de Cueva Mayor located in the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Atapuerca, is a unique reference Late Prehistory archaeological site in the Iberian Peninsula, covering some 7 kyr of Holocene occupations. Herein we present the study of lipid residue analyses from 108 pottery sherds coupled with faunal kill-off patterns from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods to gain new insights into natural product exploitation and animal management. The molecular and isotopic analyses of lipid extracts provide evidence for the use of carcass and dairy products at the site. The construction of kill-off profiles for the ovicaprids (sheep/goat) and bovines (cattle) provide complementary insights into animal management at the site, suggesting that both bovines and ovicaprids were exploited for their milk. The diachronic evolution of identified products show no major variations in livestock husbandry or diet due to cultural or environmental change. Changing uses and different activities at the cave over time (domestic, funerary, etc.) are likely responsible for the subtle differences identified in the results. This study provides the first insights into human subsistence strategies through time at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor.

AB - El Portalón de Cueva Mayor located in the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Atapuerca, is a unique reference Late Prehistory archaeological site in the Iberian Peninsula, covering some 7 kyr of Holocene occupations. Herein we present the study of lipid residue analyses from 108 pottery sherds coupled with faunal kill-off patterns from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods to gain new insights into natural product exploitation and animal management. The molecular and isotopic analyses of lipid extracts provide evidence for the use of carcass and dairy products at the site. The construction of kill-off profiles for the ovicaprids (sheep/goat) and bovines (cattle) provide complementary insights into animal management at the site, suggesting that both bovines and ovicaprids were exploited for their milk. The diachronic evolution of identified products show no major variations in livestock husbandry or diet due to cultural or environmental change. Changing uses and different activities at the cave over time (domestic, funerary, etc.) are likely responsible for the subtle differences identified in the results. This study provides the first insights into human subsistence strategies through time at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor.

KW - Pottery

KW - fatty acids

KW - δ 13C values

KW - archaeozoology

KW - kill-off patterns

KW - Neolithic

KW - Chalcolithic

KW - Bronze Age

KW - El Portalón de Cueva Mayor site

KW - Spain

U2 - 10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380

DO - 10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

SN - 0305-4403

VL - 131

JO - Journal of Archaeological Science

JF - Journal of Archaeological Science

M1 - 105380

ER -

Frances-Negro M, Iriarte E, Galindo-Pellicena MA, Carrancho A, Pérez-Romero A, Gerbault P et al. Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Journal of Archaeological Science. 2021 Jul 1;131:105380. Epub 2021 May 29. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2021.105380

Neolithic to Bronze Age economy and animal management revealed using analyses lipid residues of pottery vessels and faunal remains at El Portalón de Cueva Mayor (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Research Groups and Themes

Keywords

Access to Document

Handle.net

Fingerprint

Projects

RS Dorothy Hodgkin

Investigating the Routing of Hydrogen from Feed and Drinking Water to Ruminant Tissues

Cite this