title: Identification of the earliest collagen- and plant-based coatings from Neolithic artefacts (Nahal Hemar cave, Israel).
abstract: Mortuary practices in human evolution record cognitive, social changes and technological innovations. The Neolithic Revolution in the Levant was a watershed in this domain that has long fascinated the archaeological community. Plaster modelled skulls are well known at Jericho and several other Neolithic sites, and in Nahal Hemar cave (Israel, ca. 8200 -7300 cal. BC) excavations yielded six unique human skulls covered with a black organic coating applied in a net pattern evoking a headdress. This small cave was used as storage for paraphernalia in the semi-arid area of the Judean desert and the dry conditions preserved other artefacts such as baskets coated with a similar dark substance. While previous analysis had revealed the presence of amino acids consistent with a collagen signature, in the present report, specific biomarkers were characterised using combined proteomic and lipid approaches. Basket samples yielded collagen and blood proteins of bovine origin (Bos genus) and a large sequence coverage of a plant protein charybdin (Charybdis genus). The skull residue samples were dominated by benzoate and cinnamate derivatives and triterpenes consistent with a styrax-type resin (Styrax officinalis), thus providing the earliest known evidence of an odoriferous plant resin used in combination with an animal product.
authors: Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, MD 20746, USA.
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Solazzo
authors: Laboratoire de Biogéochimie Moléculaire, Institut de Chimie de Strasbourg, UMR 7177, Université de Strasbourg, 67200 Strasbourg, France.
authors: Blandine
authors: B
authors: Courel
authors: 23 rue Saint-Exupéry, 64000 Pau, France.
authors: Jacques
authors: J
authors: Connan
authors: School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
authors: Bart E
authors: BE
authors: van Dongen
authors: School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
authors: Holly
authors: H
authors: Barden
authors: BioArCh, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
authors: Kirsty
authors: K
authors: Penkman
authors: BioArCh, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
authors: Sheila
authors: S
authors: Taylor
authors: BioArCh, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
authors: Beatrice
authors: B
authors: Demarchi
authors: Laboratoire de Biogéochimie Moléculaire, Institut de Chimie de Strasbourg, UMR 7177, Université de Strasbourg, 67200 Strasbourg, France.
authors: Pierre
authors: P
authors: Adam
authors: Laboratoire de Biogéochimie Moléculaire, Institut de Chimie de Strasbourg, UMR 7177, Université de Strasbourg, 67200 Strasbourg, France.
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Schaeffer
authors: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors: Arie
authors: A
authors: Nissenbaum
authors: Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors: Ofer
authors: O
authors: Bar-Yosef
authors: Faculty of Life Sciences, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, United Kingdom.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Buckley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D001154:Art / Q000266:history; D002417:Cattle; D059552:Caves; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history; D005580:Fossils; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D009027:Mortuary Practice / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history; D012886:Skull
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D003094:Collagen