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Link to original content: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26922901
Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals - PubMed Skip to main page content
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. 2016 Feb 29:6:22159.
doi: 10.1038/srep22159.

Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals

Peter J Heyes  1 , Konstantinos Anastasakis  2 , Wiebren de Jong  2 , Annelies van Hoesel  1 , Wil Roebroeks  1 , Marie Soressi  1
Affiliations

Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals

Peter J Heyes et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Several Mousterian sites in France have yielded large numbers of small black blocs. The usual interpretation is that these 'manganese oxides' were collected for their colouring properties and used in body decoration, potentially for symbolic expression. Neanderthals habitually used fire and if they needed black material for decoration, soot and charcoal were readily available, whereas obtaining manganese oxides would have incurred considerably higher costs. Compositional analyses lead us to infer that late Neanderthals at Pech-de-l'Azé I were deliberately selecting manganese dioxide. Combustion experiments and thermo-gravimetric measurements demonstrate that manganese dioxide reduces wood's auto-ignition temperature and substantially increases the rate of char combustion, leading us to conclude that the most beneficial use for manganese dioxide was in fire-making. With archaeological evidence for fire places and the conversion of the manganese dioxide to powder, we argue that Neanderthals at Pech-de-l'Azé I used manganese dioxide in fire-making and produced fire on demand.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Blocs from Pech-de-l’Azé I - both unmodified (b,d) and with abrasion marks (a,c).
(b) is MD3 from the excavation spoil of early 20th century excavations and the others were recovered in the 2004 and 2005 field work campaigns.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Combustion Experiments with Manganese Dioxide MD4 and Wood Mixtures (a) showing small red flames and volatile emission and (b) the glowing fire combustion phase.
Figure 3
Figure 3. XRD Structures of Manganese Dioxide MD4, Bloc MD3 and their Combustion Residues (a) Commercial Manganese dioxide (MD4) and its Combustion Residue and (b).
Pech-de-l’Azé I Bloc MD3 and its Combustion Residue.
Figure 4
Figure 4. DTG of Wood and Mixtures of Wood and Commercial Manganese Dioxide MD4 and Wood with Bloc MD3 (a).
DTG of beech wood and Manganese Dioxide MD4 in air and (b). DTG of beech wood and Pech-de-l’Azé I Bloc MD3 in air.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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