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A study of some of the oldest pottery remains suggested that the increase in ceramic production was closely related to the intensification of fishing at the end of the last ice age.
Scientists examined 800 pottery vessels in one of the largest studies ever undertaken, focusing primarily on Japan, a country recognized as one of the first centers of innovation in ceramic.
A three-year study conducted by BioArCh researchers at the University of York concluded that ceramic vessels were used by our hunter-gatherer ancestors to store and process fish, initially salmon, but also a wide range of seashells, freshwater and fish and marine mammals such as intensified fishing.
Scientists say that this association with fish has remained stable even after the onset of global warming, including in areas further south, where the expansion of forests has provided new opportunities for hunting game and picking plants.
The research team was able to determine the use of a range of ceramic vessels by the chemical analysis of organic food compounds that remained trapped in the pots despite this. . 10,000 years of burial.
The analyzed samples are among the oldest found and date from the late Upper Pleistocene – a time when our ancestors lived in glacial conditions – to the postglacial period when the climate warmed near its current temperature and when pottery began to be produced in much larger quantities.
The study shed new light on how prehistoric hunter-gatherers processed and consumed food during this period – until now, virtually nothing was known about how the first pots were used.
As part of the study, researchers recovered diagnostic lipids from the charred surface deposits of pottery with most compounds derived from the treatment of freshwater or marine organisms.
The lead author, Dr. Alex Lucquin, of BioArCh, Department of Archeology, University of York, said: "Thanks to the exceptional conservation of animal fat traces, we now know that pottery is gone from a rare object to a day tool to prepare the fish.
"I think our study reveals not only the sustenance of the ancient Jomon people of Japan, but also its resilience to a dramatic change in climate.
Professor Oliver Craig, Department of Archeology and Director of the BioArCh Research Center in York, said, "Our results demonstrate that pottery was strongly associated with fish processing, regardless of the ecological context. .
"Contrary to expectations, this association has remained stable even after the onset of warming, including in areas further south, where the expansion of forests has provided new opportunities for hunting and gathering.
"The results indicate that a wide range of fish was processed in pottery after the end of the last ice age, corresponding to a period when hunter-gatherers began to settle in a place for longer periods and to develop more intensive fishing strategies. "
"We suggest that this marks a significant shift in the role of hunter-gatherer pottery, corresponding to a massively increased production volume, a greater variation in shapes and sizes, and the emergence of Harvesting of molluscs. "
Dr. Simon Kaner, from the University of East Anglia, who participated in the study, added: "The research highlights the benefits of this type of international collaboration to resolve some of the great questions about the human past, and the potential to engage with the established research networks as created by the Sainsbury Institute over the years. "
The results are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the study was funded by the AHRC. It was an international collaboration including researchers in Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands.
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