Browsing by Autor "Paul Goldberg"

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New methods on the block: Taxonomic identification of archaeological bones in resin-embedded sediments through paleoproteomics
(Oxford University Press, 2025) Zandra Fagernäs; Gaudry Troché; Paul Goldberg; Jean‐Jacques Hublin; Shannon P McPherron; William Chase Murphree; Jesper V. Olsen; Dennis Sandgathe; Nikolay Sirakov; Marie Soressi
The integration of biomolecular studies of past organisms with geoarchaeological studies can significantly improve our understanding of the relative chronology and context of archaeologically (in)visible behaviors. However, the complexity and sedimentological heterogeneity of archaeological deposits at a microscopic scale is often not taken into consideration in biomolecular studies. Here, we investigate the preservation and retrieval of paleoproteomic data from bone fragments embedded in Pleistocene resin-impregnated sediment blocks. We show that resin impregnation has minimal effect on skeletal protein taxonomic identifications in modern skeletal material but observe an increase in oxidation of methionines. We then successfully retrieve proteins from resin-impregnated blocks from the Paleolithic sites of Bacho Kiro Cave, La Ferrassie, and Quinçay. The taxonomic identifications of minute bones encased in resin are in line with previous analyses of the faunal communities of these sites, with a diversity of taxa (Bos sp./Bison sp., Equus sp., Ursus sp., and Caprinae) observed at a microscale in Bacho Kiro. This differs from results from La Ferrassie where most of the samples are identified as a single taxon (Bos sp./Bison sp.) across different areas of the site. The block from Quinçay only provided taxonomic identification of two out of eleven bone-derived samples, likely due to diagenesis. Our work indicates that paleoproteomes can be retrieved from bone fragments at a microstratigraphic resolution, enabling the detailed study of faunal community composition at a scale that more closely matches that of past human occupations.
Testing the Roc de Marsal Neandertal “Burial” with Geoarchaeology
(Springer Nature, 2013) Paul Goldberg; Vera Aldeias; Harold L. Dibble; Shannon P. McPherron; Dennis Sandgathe; Alain Turq
The new 14C chronology for the Palaeolithic site of La Ferrassie, France: the disappearance of Neanderthals and the arrival of Homo sapiens in France
(Wiley, 2020) Sahra Talamo; Vera Aldeias; Paul Goldberg; Laurent Chiotti; H. L. Dibble; Guillaume Guérin; Jean‐Jacques Hublin; Stéphane Madelaine; Raquel Maria; Dennis Sandgathe
Abstract The grand abri at La Ferrassie (France) has been a key site for Palaeolithic research since the early part of the 20th century. It became the eponymous site for one variant of Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, and its sequence was used to define stages of the Aurignacian, an early phase of the Upper Palaeolithic. Several Neanderthal remains, including two relatively intact skeletons, make it one of the most important sites for the study of Neanderthal morphology and one of the more important data sets when discussing the Neanderthal treatment of the dead. However, the site has remained essentially undated. Our goal here is to provide a robust chronological framework of the La Ferrassie sequence to be used for broad regional models about human behaviour during the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic periods. To achieve this goal, we used a combination of modern excavation methods, extensive geoarchaeological analyses, and radiocarbon dating. If we accept that Neanderthals were responsible for the Châtelperronian, then our results suggest an overlap of ca. 1600 years with the newly arrived Homo sapiens found elsewhere in France.