An early instance of upper palaeolithic personal ornamentation from China: The freshwater shell bead from Shuidonggou 2.

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dc.citation.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0155847en_ZA
dc.citation.issue5en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWei, Y.
dc.contributor.authorD'Errico, F.
dc.contributor.authorVanhaeren, M.
dc.contributor.authorLi, F.
dc.contributor.authorGao, X.
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-10T14:11:30Z
dc.date.available2016-11-10T14:11:30Z
dc.date.issued2016-05
dc.description.abstractWe report the discovery and present a detailed analysis of a freshwater bivalve from Shuidonggou Locality 2, layer CL3. This layer is located c. 40 cm below layer CL2, which has yielded numerous ostrich eggshell beads. The shell is identified as the valve of a Corbicula fluminea. Data on the occurrence of this species in the Shuidonggou region during Marine Isotope Stage 3 and taphonomic analysis, conducted in the framework of this study, of a modern biocoenosis and thanatocoenosis suggest that the archeological specimen was collected at one of the numerous fossil or sub-fossil outcrops where valves of this species were available at the time of occupation of level CL3. Experimental grinding and microscopic analysis of modern shells of the same species indicate that the Shuidonggou shell was most probably ground on coarse sandstone to open a hole on its umbo, attach a thread, and use the valve as a personal ornament. Experimental engraving of freshwater shells and microscopic analysis identify an incision crossing the archaeological valve outer surface as possible deliberate engraving. Reappraisal of the site chronology in the light of available radiocarbon evidence suggests an age of at least 34-33 cal kyr BP for layer CL3. Such estimate makes the C. fluminea recovered from CL3 one of the earliest instances of personal ornamentation and the earliest example of a shell bead from China.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianSP2016en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was supported by the Sino-French collaborative Programme Cai Yuanpei, the Chinese Ministry of National Education, the Chinese Higher Education and Research Council (MENESR), the China Scholarship Council (CSC), and the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZZD-EW-15).en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationWei, Y. et al. 2016. An early instance of upper palaeolithic personal ornamentation from China: The freshwater shell bead from Shuidonggou 2. PLoS ONE 11(5): e0155847.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10539/21441
dc.journal.titlePLoS ONEen_ZA
dc.journal.volume11en_ZA
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.rights© 2016 Wei et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.subjectShell beadsen_ZA
dc.subjectPaleolithic perioden_ZA
dc.subjectFresh wateren_ZA
dc.subjectIsotopes - Analysisen_ZA
dc.subjectTaphonomyen_ZA
dc.subjectChinaen_ZA
dc.titleAn early instance of upper palaeolithic personal ornamentation from China: The freshwater shell bead from Shuidonggou 2.en_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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