Shell beads discovery sheds light on Stone Age seafaring

Phys Org ^ | MAY 30, 2023 | by De Gruyter

[Red Badger]

Location of Kaylu archeological site (a no 1), Jebel (a no 2), and Dam-Dam-Cheshme 1 and 2 (a no 3); view of the rockshelter (b1); location of the two burials (b2 and b3); Caspian Sea view from the site (c); human remains state of preservation (d and e); lithic industry from layer 7 of Kaylu (f) – point (1), lunates (2, 3), end-scraper (4), splinted pieces (5, 6), cores (7, 8). Credit: Open Archaeology (2023). DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0289

Stone Age humans may have made extended maritime voyages on the Caspian Sea, according to a new study published in the journal Open Archaeology.

The research analyzed ornamental beads made from the disk-shaped shells of a species of cockle (Didacna sp.) found at the Kaylu rock shelter, a cave-like burial site near the eastern shoreline of the Caspian Sea.

Kaylu was used by Stone Age people over an extended period in the late Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. The transition between these periods is particularly significant in human cultural evolution as it parallels the transition between hunter-gathering cultures and herding and farming cultures, which occurred around 11,500 years ago in the region. Although Kaylu was excavated in the mid-twentieth century, its deposits were poorly described, and it wasn't comprehensively reassessed or directly dated until its rediscovery in 2018.

For this study, lead author Solange Rigaud of the CNRSand University of Bordeaux, France and colleagues used a wide range of tools and techniques to determine how the beads were made and used. Microscopic, morphometric, spectrometric and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses showed a distinct stylistic change between the beads worn by the last hunter-gatherers and the first farmers.

Diversity of the personal ornaments documented at Jeitun, Turkmenistan, Early Neolithic. Credit: Open Archaeology (2023). DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0289

The analyses also enabled the researchers to compare the beads found at Kaylu with others from various sites across the region. Neolithic beads found in the northern, eastern and western Caspian Sea differed significantly enough from those found in the southern region to indicate that they followed a different route of cultural diffusion.

It is well-established that the southern Caspian Sea area played a major role in the spread of farming technologies and practices, with the movement of farmers and herders along a route through what is now northern Iran. Rigaud's results suggest that cultural traditions also spread around the northern coastline of the Caspian Sea, independently of the inland route.

However, another more exciting explanation is that Stone Age people engaged in maritime voyaging on the Caspian Sea. "Seafaring contacts between these communities may have granted the rapid circulation of specific bead-types—along with people, information, knowledge and symbols—from either side of the Caspian Sea by long maritime voyages," Rigaud said.

More information: Solange Rigaud et al, Exploring Hypotheses on Early Holocene Caspian Seafaring Through Personal Ornaments: A Study of Changing Styles and Symbols in Western Central Asia, Open Archaeology (2023). DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0289

Provided by De Gruyter

[Red Badger]

PinGGG!.....................

[NWFree]

They wore bikinis like Raquel Welch

[NWFree]

Fur bikinis

[Red Badger]

Yes, but they looked like Helen Thomas....................

[SauronOfMordor]

The invention of boats allowed humans to move large cargoes easily, along shorelines and rivers, making trade much easier.

[BenLurkin]

[GingisK]

Maybe so, but nobody would look as good as she did in them.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger. Nice find.

[Hiddigeigei]

No. They went bare ass. Who needs bikinis in those days when selling it?

[frithguild]

Interesting - at this time the Caspian was as much as 40 meters above sea level as the result of Finno Scandanavian glacier meltwater - as opposed to the 25 meters below sea-level presently. A much bigger sea back then.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks all. The next 100 "ancient navigation" topics (of 905, including this one), the first 100 are here:

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[SunkenCiv]

Oh, I see, the official keyword didn’t get put in there, I should fire that guy. ;^)

[Openurmind]

This is significant, thank you!

[csvset]

Fur inside and out

[ComputerGuy]

Neat stuff

[SunkenCiv]

That’s the real reason I pinged it twice. [blush]

[SunkenCiv]

The rest of the "obsidian trade" and "Colin Renfrew" keywords, sorted:

• Stone Age Anatolians Dug Up Their Dead and Painted the Bones [03/23/2022]
• Stunning new archaeological discovery made on Kythnos island [09/08/2018]
• Were Nomads The World's First Traders? [02/12/2018]
• Complex engineering and metal-work discovered beneath ancient Greek 'pyramid' [01/18/2018]
• Sprawling Greek monuments built 4,500 years ago on 'the world's oldest maritime sanctuary'... [01/18/2018]
• Seafaring in the Aegean: new dates [03/02/2012]
• 9500 year old obsidian bracelet shows exceptional craft skills [12/29/2011]
• Normand Hammond [09/04/2008]
• Shattered clues for solving Greek island's riddle [12/28/2006]
• Experts Prepare Excavation on Greek Island [01/09/2006]
• A Biological Dig for the Roots of Language [03/18/2004]