Investigating the signature of aquatic resource use within Pleistocene hominin dietary adaptations

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dc.contributor.authorArcher, Willen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBraun, David Ren_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-10T14:48:17Z
dc.date.available2015-11-10T14:48:17Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThere is general agreement that the diet of early hominins underwent dramatic changes shortly after the appearance of stone tools in the archaeological record. It is often assumed that this change is associated with dietary expansion to incorporate large mammal resources. Although other aspects of the hominin diet, such as aquatic or vegetal resources, are assumed to be a part of hominin subsistence, identifying evidence of these adaptations has proved difficult. Here we present a series of analyses that provide methodological support for the inclusion of aquatic resources in hominin dietary reconstructions. We suggest that bone surface modifications in aquatic species are morphologically distinguishable from bone surface modifications on terrestrial taxa. We relate these findings to differences that we document in the surface mechanical properties of the two types of bone, as reflected by significant differences in bone surface microhardness values between aquatic and terrestrial species. We hypothesize that the characteristics of bone surface modifications on aquatic taxa inhibit the ability of zooarchaeologists to consistently diagnose them correctly. Contingently, this difficulty influences correspondence levels between zooarchaeologists, and may therefore result in misinterpretation of the taphonomic history of early Pleistocene aquatic faunal assemblages. A blind test using aquatic specimens and a select group of 9 experienced zooarchaeologists as participants was designed to test this hypothesis. Investigation of 4 different possible explanations for blind test results suggest the dominant factors explaining patterning relate to (1) the specific methodologies employed to diagnose modifications on aquatic specimens and (2) the relative experience of participants with modifications on aquatic bone surfaces. Consequently we argue that an important component of early hominin diets may have hitherto been overlooked as a result of (a) the paucity of referential frameworks within which to identify such a component and (b) the inability of applied identification methodologies to consistently do so.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationArcher, W., & Braun, D. R. (2013). Investigating the signature of aquatic resource use within Pleistocene hominin dietary adaptations. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14834en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationArcher, Will, and David R Braun "Investigating the signature of aquatic resource use within Pleistocene hominin dietary adaptations." <i>PLoS One</i> (2013) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14834en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationArcher, W., & Braun, D. R. (2013). Investigating the signature of aquatic resource use within Pleistocene hominin dietary adaptations. PloS one, 8(8), e69899. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069899en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Archer, Will AU - Braun, David R AB - There is general agreement that the diet of early hominins underwent dramatic changes shortly after the appearance of stone tools in the archaeological record. It is often assumed that this change is associated with dietary expansion to incorporate large mammal resources. Although other aspects of the hominin diet, such as aquatic or vegetal resources, are assumed to be a part of hominin subsistence, identifying evidence of these adaptations has proved difficult. Here we present a series of analyses that provide methodological support for the inclusion of aquatic resources in hominin dietary reconstructions. We suggest that bone surface modifications in aquatic species are morphologically distinguishable from bone surface modifications on terrestrial taxa. We relate these findings to differences that we document in the surface mechanical properties of the two types of bone, as reflected by significant differences in bone surface microhardness values between aquatic and terrestrial species. We hypothesize that the characteristics of bone surface modifications on aquatic taxa inhibit the ability of zooarchaeologists to consistently diagnose them correctly. Contingently, this difficulty influences correspondence levels between zooarchaeologists, and may therefore result in misinterpretation of the taphonomic history of early Pleistocene aquatic faunal assemblages. A blind test using aquatic specimens and a select group of 9 experienced zooarchaeologists as participants was designed to test this hypothesis. Investigation of 4 different possible explanations for blind test results suggest the dominant factors explaining patterning relate to (1) the specific methodologies employed to diagnose modifications on aquatic specimens and (2) the relative experience of participants with modifications on aquatic bone surfaces. Consequently we argue that an important component of early hominin diets may have hitherto been overlooked as a result of (a) the paucity of referential frameworks within which to identify such a component and (b) the inability of applied identification methodologies to consistently do so. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0069899 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - Investigating the signature of aquatic resource use within Pleistocene hominin dietary adaptations TI - Investigating the signature of aquatic resource use within Pleistocene hominin dietary adaptations UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14834 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14834
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069899
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationArcher W, Braun DR. Investigating the signature of aquatic resource use within Pleistocene hominin dietary adaptations. PLoS One. 2013; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14834.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Archaeologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2013 Archer, Braunen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPaleoanthropologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHuman evolutionen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAnalystsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherArchaeologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPleistocene epochen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAquatic animalsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherCatfishen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBone and joint mechanicsen_ZA
dc.titleInvestigating the signature of aquatic resource use within Pleistocene hominin dietary adaptationsen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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