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2016 ; 6
(ä): 22159
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Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals
#MMPMID26922901
Heyes PJ
; Anastasakis K
; de Jong W
; van Hoesel A
; Roebroeks W
; Soressi M
Sci Rep
2016[Feb]; 6
(ä): 22159
PMID26922901
show ga
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.