Examining the Association between Pigment Residues and Potlid-like Cracking: a Case Study from Zaskelna V
Keywords:
Eastern Europe, Crimea, Middle Palaeolithic, potlid-like cracking, pigment residue.
Abstract
The article examines flint artefacts with traces of pigment discovered in 1993 in layer II of the Zaskelna V site (Crimea), focusing on one specimen with rare incomplete potlid-like cracking and associated ochrerich residues. An initial hypothesis that the cracking was caused by heated pigment-containing adhesive was not supported experimentally. Instead, the scar likely resulted from localised sudden cooling, while the pigment adhered later to the surface damage, though their precise relationship remains unclear.
References
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Ryzhov, S. M., Tysliuk, V. V. 2024. Cognitive Possibilities of Studying Pigments on Stone Artefacts. VITA ANTIQUA, 15. Methods for Monitoring and Research of Archaeological Heritage Objects, p. 79-91. https://doi.org/10.37098/VA-2024-15-79-91
Stepanchuk, V. M., Kovaliukh, N. N., Van der Plicht, J. 2004. Radiovuhletsevyi vik piznopleistotsenovykh paleolitychnykh stoianok Krymu. Kamiana doba Ukrainy, 5, p. 34-61.
Stepanchuk, V. M., Nezdolii, O. I., Vietrov, D. O. 2018. Natural Pigments in Materials of the Multilayered Mousterian Site of Prolom II. Archaeology and Ancient History of Ukraine, 3 (28), p. 7-21. https://doi.org/10.37445/adiu.2018.03.01
Stepanchuk, V. N. 2006. Nizhnii i srednii paleolit Ukrainy. Chernivtsi: Zelena Bukovyna.
Stepanchuk, V. N. 2024. Yurii Heorhiiovych Kolosov (to the 100th Anniversary of His Birth). Arheologia, 4, p. 125-138. https://doi.org/10.15407/arheologia2024.04.125.
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Agam, A., Hattermann, M., Pinkas, I., Richter, J., Uthmeier, Th. 2023. Heat Treatment of Flint at the Late Neanderthal Site Sesselfelsgrotte (Germany). Quaternary, 6 (4), p. 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6040052
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Degano, I., Soriano, S., Villa, P., Pollarolo, L., Lucejko, J. J., Jacobs, Z., Douka, K., Vitagliano, S., Tozzi, C. 2019. Hafting of Middle Paleolithic Tools in Latium (Central Italy): New Data from Fossellone and Sant’Agostino Caves. PLoS One, 14 (6), e0213473. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213473
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Fiers, G., Halbrucker, É., De Kock, T., Vandendriessche, H., Crombé, P., Cnudde, V. 2021. Thermal Alteration of Flint: An Experimental Approach to Investigate the Effect on Material Properties. Lithic Technology, 46 (1), p. 27-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2020.1805215
Kolosov, Yu. H., Stepanchuk, V. N. 2000. Crimean Assemblages with Bifacial Tools: Brief Review. A la recherche de l’homme préhistorique Etudes et Recherches Archeologiques de l`Universite de Liege, 95, p. 265-276.
Kozowyk, P. R. B. 2023. Archaeological Podocarpus tar supports the cognitive complexity of Neanderthals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 120 (7), e2221676120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.222167612
Mazza, P. P. A., Martini, F., Sala, B., Magi, M., Colombini, M. P., Giachi, G., Landucci, F., Lemorini, C., Modugno, F., Ribechini, E. 2006. A New Palaeolithic Discovery: Tar-Hafted Stone Tools in a European Mid — Pleistocene Bone-Bearing Bed. Journal of Archaeological Science, 33 (9), p. 1310-1318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2006.01.006
Moore, M. W., Sutikna, T., Morwood, M. J., Brumm, A. 2009. Continuities in Stone Flaking Technology at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia. Journal of Human Evolution, 57 (5), p. 503-526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.10.006
Niekus, M. J. T., Kozowyk, P. R., Langejans, G. H., Ngan-Tillard, D., van Keulen, H., van der Plicht, J., Cohen K. M., van Wingerden W., van Os B., Smit B. I., Amkreutz L. W. S. W.,Johansen L., Verbaas A., Dusseldorp, G. L. 2019. Middle Paleolithic Complex Technology and a Neandertal Tar-Backed Tool from the Dutch North Sea. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (44), p. 22081-22087. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.190782811
Patterson, L. W. 1995. Thermal Damage of Chert. Lithic Technology, 20 (1), р. 72-80.
Purdy, B. A., Brooks, H. K. 1971. Thermal Alteration of Silica Minerals: An Archeological Approach. Science, 173 (3994), p. 322-325. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.173.3994.322
Reimer, P. J., Austin, W. E. N., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Blackwell, P. G., Bronk Ramsey, C., Butzin, M., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P. M., Guilderson, T. P., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T. J., Hogg, A. G., Hughen, K. A., Kromer, B., Manning, S. W., Muscheler, R. et al. 2020. The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 Cal kBP). Radiocarbon, 62 (4), p. 725-757. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.41
Ryzhov, S. M., Stepanchuk, V. N., Sapozhnikov, I. V. 2005. Raw Material Provenance in the Palaeolithic of Ukraine: State of Problem, Current Approaches and First Results. Archeometriai Műhely, 4, p. 17-25.
Ryzhov, S., Stepanchuk, V., Nezdolii, O., Vietrov, D. 2022. Analysis of Micro-Residues on Stone Tools from Zaskelna IX, Crimea: First Results. Arheologia, 1, p. 5-25. https://doi.org/10.15407/arheologia2022.01.005
Schmidt, P., Iovita, R., Charrié-Duhaut, A., Möller, G., Namen, A., Dutkiewicz, E. 2024. Ochre-based Compound Adhesives at the Mousterian Type-Site Document Complex Cognition and High Investment. Science Advances, 10 (8), eadl0822. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0822
Stepanchuk, V. N. 2022. Pebbles with Ochre Residues from Neanderthal Sites of Eastern Crimea. In: Cîrstina, O., Nițu, E.-C. (eds.). A Life Dedicated to the Paleolithic: Studies in Honorem Marin Cârciumaru. Târgovişte: Cetatea de scaun, p. 53-69.
Stepanchuk, V., Naumenko, O. 2022. A New Aspect of Post-Depositional Alterations of Lithic Artefacts: The Case of Medzhibozh Lower Palaeolithic Assemblages. Materials and Studies on Archaeology of Sub-Carpathian and Volhynian Area, 26, p. 11-31. https://doi.org/10.33402/mdapv.2022-26-11-31
Stepanchuk, V., Naumenko, O. 2024. Investigating the Post-Discard Alteration of Flint Artefacts at Medzhibozh 1 Lower Palaeolithic Site, Ukraine. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 53, p. 283-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104374
Thiébaut, C., Claud, É., Costamagno, S. (dir.) 2019. L’acquisition et le traitement des matières végétales et animales par les néandertaliens: quelles modalités et quelles stratégies? Palethnologie, 10. https://doi.org/10.4000/palethnologie.4070
Wadley, L., Hodgskiss, T., Grant, M. 2009. Implications for Complex Cognition from the Hafting of Tools with Compound Adhesives in the Middle Stone Age, South Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106 (24), p. 9590-9594. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0900957106
Whittaker, J. C. 2015 Fire-and-Water Knapping: Origins of an Anthropological Folk Tale. Lithic Technology, 40 (1), р. 40-51. https://doi.org/10.1179/2051618514Y.0000000006
Yegorov, D., Marder, O., Khalaily, H., Milevski, I., Rosen, S. A. 2020. Heat Treated or Not Heat Treated: Archaeological and Experimental Interpretation of Flint Assemblage from the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Site of Yiftahel. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 29, p. 102090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102090
Kolosov, Iu. G. 1983. Musterskie stoianki raiona Belogorska. Kyiv: Naukova dumka.
Kolosov, Yu. H. 2003. Bahatosharova mustierska stoianka Zaskelna V u Krymu i novi dani pro absoliutnu khronolohiiu yii kulturnykh shariv. Kamiana doba Ukrainy, 2, p. 22-31.
Kolosov, Iu. G., Stepanchuk, V. N., Chabai, V. P. 1993. Rannii paleolit Kryma. Kyiv: Naukova dumka.
Kolosov, Iu. G., Kuharchuk, Iu. V., Ryzhov, S. N. 1994a. Raboty u skaly Ak-Kaia. In: Kutaisov, V. A. (ed.). Arkheologicheskie issledovaniia v Krymu, 1993. Simferopol: Tavriia, p. 146-150.
Kolosov, Iu. G., Kuharchuk, Iu. V., Ryzhov, S. N. 1994b. Otchet o rabotakh na stoianke Zaskalnaia V v 1993 g. Scientific Archive of the Institute of Archaeology, the NAS of Ukraine, f. 1993/10.
Naumenko, O. О., Radiievska, T. М. 2022. The Iskorost Site and its Place in the Stone Age of Ukraine: Historiographical, Typological and Technological Aspects. Arheologia, 3, p. 88-112. https://doi.org/10.15407/arheologia2022.03.088.
Ryzhov, S. M., Tysliuk, V. V. 2024. Cognitive Possibilities of Studying Pigments on Stone Artefacts. VITA ANTIQUA, 15. Methods for Monitoring and Research of Archaeological Heritage Objects, p. 79-91. https://doi.org/10.37098/VA-2024-15-79-91
Stepanchuk, V. M., Kovaliukh, N. N., Van der Plicht, J. 2004. Radiovuhletsevyi vik piznopleistotsenovykh paleolitychnykh stoianok Krymu. Kamiana doba Ukrainy, 5, p. 34-61.
Stepanchuk, V. M., Nezdolii, O. I., Vietrov, D. O. 2018. Natural Pigments in Materials of the Multilayered Mousterian Site of Prolom II. Archaeology and Ancient History of Ukraine, 3 (28), p. 7-21. https://doi.org/10.37445/adiu.2018.03.01
Stepanchuk, V. N. 2006. Nizhnii i srednii paleolit Ukrainy. Chernivtsi: Zelena Bukovyna.
Stepanchuk, V. N. 2024. Yurii Heorhiiovych Kolosov (to the 100th Anniversary of His Birth). Arheologia, 4, p. 125-138. https://doi.org/10.15407/arheologia2024.04.125.
Stepanchuk, V. N., Vasilev, S. V., (eds). 2018. Late Neanderthals of Crimea. Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosov site). Layers III and IIIa. Kyiv: CHP “Izdatelstvo “SLOVO””.
Abdolahzadeh, A., Leader, G. M., Li, L., Olszewski, D. I., Schurr, T. G. 2023. Heat Exposed Lithics: An Experimental Approach to Quantifying Potlids by Temperature. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 48, 103894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103894
Agam, A., Hattermann, M., Pinkas, I., Richter, J., Uthmeier, Th. 2023. Heat Treatment of Flint at the Late Neanderthal Site Sesselfelsgrotte (Germany). Quaternary, 6 (4), p. 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6040052
Cârciumaru, M., Ion, R.-M., Niţu, E.-C., Ştefănescu, R. 2012. New Evidence of Adhesive as Hafting Material on Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Artefacts from Gura Cheii-Râşnov Cave (Romania). Journal of Archaeological Science, 39 (7), p. 1942-1950. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.02.016
Chabai, V., Uthmeier, T. 2017. New Excavations at the Middle Paleolithic Site Zaskelna 5, Crimea. The 2012 and 2013 Field Seasons: A Preliminary Report. Quartär, 64, p. 27-71. https://doi.org/10.7485/QU64_2
Degano, I., Soriano, S., Villa, P., Pollarolo, L., Lucejko, J. J., Jacobs, Z., Douka, K., Vitagliano, S., Tozzi, C. 2019. Hafting of Middle Paleolithic Tools in Latium (Central Italy): New Data from Fossellone and Sant’Agostino Caves. PLoS One, 14 (6), e0213473. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213473
Doronicheva, E. V., Golovanova, L. V., Kostina, J. V., Legkov, S. A., Poplevko, G. N., Revina, E. I., Rusakova, O. Y., Doronichev, V. B. 2022. Functional Characterization of Mousterian Tools from the Caucasus Using Comprehensive Use-Wear and Residue Analysis. Scientific Reports, 12 (1), 17421.
Fiers, G., Halbrucker, É., De Kock, T., Vandendriessche, H., Crombé, P., Cnudde, V. 2021. Thermal Alteration of Flint: An Experimental Approach to Investigate the Effect on Material Properties. Lithic Technology, 46 (1), p. 27-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2020.1805215
Kolosov, Yu. H., Stepanchuk, V. N. 2000. Crimean Assemblages with Bifacial Tools: Brief Review. A la recherche de l’homme préhistorique Etudes et Recherches Archeologiques de l`Universite de Liege, 95, p. 265-276.
Kozowyk, P. R. B. 2023. Archaeological Podocarpus tar supports the cognitive complexity of Neanderthals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 120 (7), e2221676120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.222167612
Mazza, P. P. A., Martini, F., Sala, B., Magi, M., Colombini, M. P., Giachi, G., Landucci, F., Lemorini, C., Modugno, F., Ribechini, E. 2006. A New Palaeolithic Discovery: Tar-Hafted Stone Tools in a European Mid — Pleistocene Bone-Bearing Bed. Journal of Archaeological Science, 33 (9), p. 1310-1318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2006.01.006
Moore, M. W., Sutikna, T., Morwood, M. J., Brumm, A. 2009. Continuities in Stone Flaking Technology at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia. Journal of Human Evolution, 57 (5), p. 503-526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.10.006
Niekus, M. J. T., Kozowyk, P. R., Langejans, G. H., Ngan-Tillard, D., van Keulen, H., van der Plicht, J., Cohen K. M., van Wingerden W., van Os B., Smit B. I., Amkreutz L. W. S. W.,Johansen L., Verbaas A., Dusseldorp, G. L. 2019. Middle Paleolithic Complex Technology and a Neandertal Tar-Backed Tool from the Dutch North Sea. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (44), p. 22081-22087. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.190782811
Patterson, L. W. 1995. Thermal Damage of Chert. Lithic Technology, 20 (1), р. 72-80.
Purdy, B. A., Brooks, H. K. 1971. Thermal Alteration of Silica Minerals: An Archeological Approach. Science, 173 (3994), p. 322-325. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.173.3994.322
Reimer, P. J., Austin, W. E. N., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Blackwell, P. G., Bronk Ramsey, C., Butzin, M., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P. M., Guilderson, T. P., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T. J., Hogg, A. G., Hughen, K. A., Kromer, B., Manning, S. W., Muscheler, R. et al. 2020. The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 Cal kBP). Radiocarbon, 62 (4), p. 725-757. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.41
Ryzhov, S. M., Stepanchuk, V. N., Sapozhnikov, I. V. 2005. Raw Material Provenance in the Palaeolithic of Ukraine: State of Problem, Current Approaches and First Results. Archeometriai Műhely, 4, p. 17-25.
Ryzhov, S., Stepanchuk, V., Nezdolii, O., Vietrov, D. 2022. Analysis of Micro-Residues on Stone Tools from Zaskelna IX, Crimea: First Results. Arheologia, 1, p. 5-25. https://doi.org/10.15407/arheologia2022.01.005
Schmidt, P., Iovita, R., Charrié-Duhaut, A., Möller, G., Namen, A., Dutkiewicz, E. 2024. Ochre-based Compound Adhesives at the Mousterian Type-Site Document Complex Cognition and High Investment. Science Advances, 10 (8), eadl0822. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0822
Stepanchuk, V. N. 2022. Pebbles with Ochre Residues from Neanderthal Sites of Eastern Crimea. In: Cîrstina, O., Nițu, E.-C. (eds.). A Life Dedicated to the Paleolithic: Studies in Honorem Marin Cârciumaru. Târgovişte: Cetatea de scaun, p. 53-69.
Stepanchuk, V., Naumenko, O. 2022. A New Aspect of Post-Depositional Alterations of Lithic Artefacts: The Case of Medzhibozh Lower Palaeolithic Assemblages. Materials and Studies on Archaeology of Sub-Carpathian and Volhynian Area, 26, p. 11-31. https://doi.org/10.33402/mdapv.2022-26-11-31
Stepanchuk, V., Naumenko, O. 2024. Investigating the Post-Discard Alteration of Flint Artefacts at Medzhibozh 1 Lower Palaeolithic Site, Ukraine. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 53, p. 283-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104374
Thiébaut, C., Claud, É., Costamagno, S. (dir.) 2019. L’acquisition et le traitement des matières végétales et animales par les néandertaliens: quelles modalités et quelles stratégies? Palethnologie, 10. https://doi.org/10.4000/palethnologie.4070
Wadley, L., Hodgskiss, T., Grant, M. 2009. Implications for Complex Cognition from the Hafting of Tools with Compound Adhesives in the Middle Stone Age, South Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106 (24), p. 9590-9594. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0900957106
Whittaker, J. C. 2015 Fire-and-Water Knapping: Origins of an Anthropological Folk Tale. Lithic Technology, 40 (1), р. 40-51. https://doi.org/10.1179/2051618514Y.0000000006
Yegorov, D., Marder, O., Khalaily, H., Milevski, I., Rosen, S. A. 2020. Heat Treated or Not Heat Treated: Archaeological and Experimental Interpretation of Flint Assemblage from the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Site of Yiftahel. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 29, p. 102090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102090
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