PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Analysis of grinding tools reveals plant, pigment and bone processing in Neolithic Northern Saudi Arabia

Analysis of grinding tools reveals plant, pigment and bone processing in Neolithic Northern Saudi Arabia
2023-10-04
(Press-News.org) In recent years, studies have revealed that the now-arid region of northern Arabia was once much wetter and greener, providing Neolithic human populations with access to both water and game. The present aridity of the region, however, preserves little organic matter, making a reconstruction of the Neolithic lifestyle difficult.

Now, in a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, the National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Heritage Science (CNR ISPC), and University College London present use-wear analysis of grinding tools recovered from Jebel Oraf in the Nefud desert of Saudi Arabia, revealing new insights into this little-understood chapter of the human story. Use-wear analysis shows that grinding tools were used for the processing of bone, pigment and plants, and were sometimes re-used for different purposes during their life span, before finally being broken up and placed on hearths.

In the new study, researchers use high-powered microscopes to compare use-wear patterns on the archaeological tools with those on experimental tools. In experiments, the grinding of grains, other plants, bone or pigment produces distinctive macro- and micro-traces on the tools’ used surface, including fractures, edge rounding of individual grains, levelled areas, striations, and different types of polish. These distinctive traces were also identified on the Neolithic grinding tools, allowing the scientists to determine which materials were being processed. 

Although faunal remains have previously revealed that meat was cooked and consumed at Jebel Oraf, wear patterns indicate that meat and bones were first processed on grindstones, revealing the possibility that bones were broken to access bone marrow.

Grinding tools were also used to process plants. While there is no evidence for domesticated grains in northern Arabia in this period, the authors argue that wild plants were ground and perhaps baked into simple breads.

“The hearths where we found the grinding tools were extremely short-lived, and people may have been very mobile – breads would have made a good and easily transportable food for them,” says Maria Guagnin, researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and one of the study’s lead authors.

The researchers also found evidence of pigment processing, which they argue may be linked to Neolithic paintings. Their findings reveal that pigment was ground and processed on a much larger scale than previously assumed, suggesting there may have been more painted Neolithic rock art than the few surviving panels suggest.

“It is clear grinding tools were important for the Neolithic occupants of Jebel Oraf. Many were heavily used, and some even had holes in them that suggest they were transported. That means people carried heavy grinding tools with them and their functionality must have been an important element in daily life,” says Giulio Lucarini of the National Research Council of Italy, the study’s other lead author.

This type of analysis has only rarely been applied to archaeological materials from the Arabian peninsula, but can provide important information on the manufacture, use, and re-use of grinding tools, which in turn provides insight into the subsistence, economy, and art of the people who produced them.

Researchers involved in this study work in close partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Culture. Additional partners include King Saud University and key institutions in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Analysis of grinding tools reveals plant, pigment and bone processing in Neolithic Northern Saudi Arabia Analysis of grinding tools reveals plant, pigment and bone processing in Neolithic Northern Saudi Arabia 2 Analysis of grinding tools reveals plant, pigment and bone processing in Neolithic Northern Saudi Arabia 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Early human migrants followed lush corridor-route out of Africa

Early human migrants followed lush corridor-route out of Africa
2023-10-04
An international team of scientists has found early human migrants left Africa for Eurasia, across the Sinai peninsula and on through Jordan, over 80-thousand years ago. Researchers from the University of Southampton (UK) and Shantou University (China), together with colleagues in Jordan, Australia and the Czech Republic(1), have proved there was a “well-watered corridor” which funnelled hunter-gatherers through The Levant towards western Asia and northern Arabia via Jordan. Their findings, published in the journal Science Advances, support previous research conducted ...

A UCLA-led team may have found the key to stimulating human brown adipose tissue into combating obesity

2023-10-04
EMBARGOED FOR USE UNTIL: 2 p.m. (ET) on Oct. 4, 2023 -- A UCLA-led team of researchers has found nerve pathways that supply brown adipose tissue (BAT), a type of tissue that releases chemical energy from fat metabolism as heat – a finding that could pave the way toward using it to treat obesity and related metabolic conditions. The researchers have for the first time detailed this nerve supply and provided examples of how manipulating it can change BAT activity, marking a first step toward understanding how to use it therapeutically, said ...

Proteins roll the dice to determine bee sex

Proteins roll the dice to determine bee sex
2023-10-04
To date it has been unclear exactly how the sex of a bee is determined. A research team from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) comprising biologists and chemists has now identified a key gene and the molecular mechanism linked with it. In the current issue of the scientific journal Science Advances, they describe how this process is similar to a game involving two dice. The sex of a living creature has significant consequences for its form, function and behaviour. The biological sex of an organism is usually determined at the start of its life. In humans, for example, the presence of the sex-determining “Y chromosome” ...

DOE’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program selects 60 outstanding U.S. graduate students

2023-10-04
WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science has selected 60 graduate students representing 26 states for the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program’s 2023 Solicitation 1 cycle. Through world-class training and access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources at DOE National Laboratories, SCGSR prepares graduate students to enter jobs of critical importance to the DOE mission and secures our national position at the forefront of discovery and innovation. “This ...

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation names Special Olympics International Recipient of 2023 Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health and awards Honorary Pardes Prize to Henry Jarecki, M.D

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation names Special Olympics International Recipient of 2023 Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health and awards Honorary Pardes Prize to Henry Jarecki, M.D
2023-10-04
NEW YORK (October 4, 2023) -- The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation today announced that Special Olympics International is the recipient of the 2023 Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health. It is recognized for its lasting humanitarian impact around the world through sports training and athletic competition for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. An Honorary Pardes Prize Recipient was also announced for 2023 – Henry Jarecki, M.D – for his important contributions to the field of psychiatry and his unique work to preserve academic and scientific freedom. “Special Olympics International is being honored as a beacon of light ...

Mayo Clinic researchers develop calculation to identify high-risk moderate aortic stenosis patients

2023-10-04
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a calculation that can help identify moderate aortic stenosis patients at higher risk of dying from the condition. According to new research published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, calculating the patient's mean arterial pressure (AugMAP) is a simple and effective way to identify those patients who may benefit from more aggressive treatment strategies. "Physiologically, AugMAP can be considered a marker of global left ventricular contractile function," says Chieh-Ju Chao, M.D., senior associate consultant in the Mayo Clinic Department ...

Machine learning used to probe the building blocks of shapes

Machine learning used to probe the building blocks of shapes
2023-10-04
Applying machine learning to find the properties of atomic pieces of geometry shows how AI has the power to accelerate discoveries in maths. Mathematicians from Imperial College London and the University of Nottingham have, for the first time, used machine learning to expand and accelerate work identifying ‘atomic shapes’ that form the basic pieces of geometry in higher dimensions. Their findings have been published in Nature Communications. The way they used artificial intelligence, in the form of machine learning, could transform how maths is done, say the authors. Dr Alexander Kasprzyk from ...

Invertebrate biodiversity is improving in England’s rivers, long-term trends show

2023-10-04
Rivers across England have seen a significant improvement in river invertebrate biodiversity since 1989, shows a study led by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) researchers. The study, which involved one of the largest and most wide-ranging analyses of long-term monitoring data in the world – spanning over 30 years, found improvements in invertebrate biodiversity across all regions and river types in England. This improvement is all the more surprising given English rivers are amongst the most highly exposed to wastewater and other pressures in Europe. The recent State of Nature report shows that the overall abundance of species in Great ...

LSU Health New Orleans’ Porche awarded top honor by National League for Nursing

LSU Health New Orleans’ Porche awarded top honor by National League for Nursing
2023-10-04
New Orleans – The National League for Nursing (NLN) presented Demetrius Porche, DNS, PhD, ANEF, FACHE, FAANP, FAAN, Professor and Dean of LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, with its Mary Adelaide Nutting Award for Outstanding Teaching or Leadership in Nursing Education during the 2023 NLN Education Summit. The Annual NLN Awards recognize and honor individuals of stature and distinction for their outstanding contributions to nursing education and the broader space of health care. The NLN Mary Adelaide ...

Translational Plant Sciences Center sows seeds for new research

Translational Plant Sciences Center sows seeds for new research
2023-10-04
The Translational Plant Sciences Center has awarded funding to four new research projects to help them grow and cultivate external funding. The center provided the projects up to $10,000 a year for up to two years to support the development of innovative research leading to extramural support through the Translational Plant Sciences Center (TPSC) Seed Grant program. “This program aims to provide faculty with funds to explore new research by establishing teams composed of labs and partners both inside and outside of TPSC and Virginia Tech ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers

[Press-News.org] Analysis of grinding tools reveals plant, pigment and bone processing in Neolithic Northern Saudi Arabia