Phytoliths in the Middle Palaeolithic deposits of Kebara Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel: Study of the plant materials used for fuel and other purposes
Phytoliths in the Middle Palaeolithic deposits of Kebara Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel: Study of the plant materials used for fuel and other purposes
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DOI：
10.1006/jasc.2000.0507
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发表时间：
2000-10-01
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Meignen, L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Albert, RM;Wiener, S;Meignen, L
凯巴拉洞穴（以色列）是一个经过充分研究的考古遗址。它包含大量可见的壁炉。灰分矿物是莫斯特沉积物的主要组成部分，并以不同的保存状态存在。此外，还可以从烧焦的遗骸中获得考古植物学信息。因此，Kebara Cave 是研究植硅体潜力的理想场所，可提供有关洞穴中用火模式的信息，评估其他植物材料的输入，以及确定成岩作用对植硅体保存的影响。对 20 个样品的矿物学、每单位重量酸不溶性部分的植硅体含量和植硅体形态进行了分析。总体而言，植硅体保存状况良好，但目前与植硅体伴生的矿物成分主要为灰分方解石的两个样品除外。洞穴沉积物中的植硅体含量比洞穴外分析的四个样本中的植硅体多约十倍。进入洞穴的植物材料的主要来源显然是用作生火燃料的木材和树皮。样品中存在的草植硅体也被认为部分是与木材/树皮燃料一起被带入洞穴的。炉灶以及炉灶之间的沉积物含有丰富的木材/树皮植硅体。后者的两个样品含有大量未知的植硅体，这些植硅体不存在于木材和树皮中，其他炉床样品也是如此。因此，除了用作燃料的植物材料之外，植物材料也被带入洞穴。这项研究表明，植硅体分析与详细的矿物学、地层学、考古植物学和实地信息相结合，可以更全面地了解史前洞穴中植物材料作为燃料的用途。版权所有2000 学术出版社
Kebara Cave (Israel) is a well studied archaeological site. It contains abundant visible hearths. Ash derived minerals are a major component of the Mousterian sediments and are present in varying states of preservation. Furthermore, archaeobotanic information is available from charred remains. Kebara Cave is thus an ideal location to study the potential of phytoliths to provide information on the mode of fire use in the cave, to assess the input of other plant materials, as well as to determine the effects of diagenesis on phytolith preservation.Twenty samples were analysed in terms of their mineralogy, phytolith contents per unit weight of acid insoluble fraction, and phytolith morphologies. In general the preservation of the phytoliths is good, except for the two samples in which the mineral component associated at present with the phytoliths is mainly ash-derived calcite. The cave sediments contain about ten times more phytoliths than those present in the four samples analysed from outside the cave. The major source of plant material input into the cave is clearly from the wood and bark used for the fuel for fires. The grass phytoliths present in the samples are also thought, in part, to have been brought into the cave associated with the wood/bark fuel. Sediments from the hearths, as well as those between the hearths, contain abundant wood/bark phytoliths. The two samples of the latter contain appreciable amounts of phytoliths not known to be present in wood and bark, as do other hearth derived samples. Plant materials other than those used as fuel were thus also brought into the cave.This study shows that phytolith analyses, in conjunction with detailed mineralogical, stratigraphic, archaeobotanic and field information, can provide a more complete understanding of the use of plant materials in prehistoric caves for fuel. Copyright 2000 Academic Press