Ancient CyprusAncient Cyprus

Article · 2015

Direct dating and physico-chemical analyses cast doubts on the coexistence of humans and dwarf hippos in Cyprus

A. Zazzo, M. Lebon, A. Quiles, I. Reiche and J.-D. Vigne

PLoS ONE 10(8) e0134429

A research article that dates dwarf hippo bones from Akrotiri-Aetokremnos directly and analyses them chemically, to test whether people and dwarf hippos coexisted in Cyprus.

Zazzo and colleagues ask whether people and dwarf hippos coexisted at Akrotiri-Aetokremnos, a question that turns on when the hippo bones accumulated and when they were burned. They combine direct radiocarbon dating with physical and chemical analyses of bones from strata 2 and 4, and the article is arranged as results, discussion, and materials and methods.

The dates come from calcined bone apatite, other bone and tooth fractions, and charcoal, and FTIR, carbon isotope analysis, micro-PIXE and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy supplement them. Fifty-six samples from the site were collected in 2009 (pp. 3–5, 8–10).

Two Bayesian models test whether the hippo bones of stratum 2 were deposited with that layer or mixed in from stratum 4. Both place stratum 4 in the first half of the 13th millennium cal BP and the start of stratum 2 in its second half, and neither resolves whether the stratum 2 hippo bones are in primary context (pp. 6–7).

Accumulation and calcination of the bones were separated in time, the authors argue. The bone turquoise and the absence of cyanamide in the calcined specimens indicate to them that the bones had been buried and chemically altered before they were heated. They favour natural accumulation in stratum 4, possibly during drought-related die-offs, followed by human use of the bones as fuel several centuries later, over human hunting as the cause of the deposit. The authors note that the available dates cannot establish whether hippos survived into the period of stratum 2 (pp. 6–8).

What it records

  • Stratum 2 contains 88% of the cultural material recovered at Akrotiri-Aetokremnos and nine of its eleven identified archaeological features.p. 2
  • Stratum 4 contains 95% of the pygmy hippo remains reported from Akrotiri-Aetokremnos.p. 2
  • Zazzo and colleagues report 35 new radiocarbon determinations on hippo bones from strata 2 and 4 at Akrotiri-Aetokremnos.p. 3
  • Zazzo and colleagues conclude that stratum 4 accumulated during the first half of the 13th millennium cal BP and that calcination occurred later.p. 6
  • Zazzo and colleagues argue that the stratum 4 hippo bones accumulated naturally, possibly as animals frequented the cave for water and shelter.p. 7
  • The dated bone samples were loaned from the Kourion Museum in Episkopi, where they are curated and permanently held.p. 8
  • Zazzo and colleagues report 18 suid remains, most from stratum 2, and read them as evidence that wild boar had been introduced by the mid-13th millennium cal BP.p. 8

Where to read

  • Bone turquoise and analyses of manganese uptakepp. 3–4
  • Radiocarbon results and Bayesian modelspp. 4–7
  • Sample selection and analytical methodspp. 8–10

Contents

  • Introduction2
  • Results3
  • Physico-chemical analyses3
  • Radiocarbon dating4
  • Discussion6
  • Material and Methods8
  • Sample selection8
  • Radiocarbon dating8
  • FTIR analysis9
  • Micro-PIXE analysis9
  • Visible diffuse reflectance10
  • Supporting Information10
  • Acknowledgments11
  • References11

Objects published here

1
  • Calcined radio-ulna of an adult dwarf hippo, stratum 4, Feature 3, Fig. 1 (p. fig. 1)

People, places and institutions

People

Institutions

Places

  • Akrotiri-Aetokremnosrock shelter with hippo bones and human remains

Also named: Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, University of Arizona AMS ¹⁴C lab, Artemis Facility of Gif-sur-Yvette, Aglae, C2rmf, Klimonas, Shillourokambos.

Extent Article e0134429; 2 figs (1–2) and 9 supplementary figs

Cyprus Before HumansAnimalsChronology and DatingLandscape and Climate

Cited on Ancient Cyprus

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