Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BeBamb (Beyond the Bamboo Hypothesis. A microscopic exploration of plant processing practices in prehistoric Palawan, Philippines, and their relationship to lithic technology.)
Período documentado: 2019-12-01 hasta 2021-11-30
The prehistory of SE Asia is very different from the rest of the Old World. The stone tool kit is rudimentary and production techniques lasted unchanged for millennia. Currently, the dominant hypothesis to explain it is the “Bamboo Hypothesis”: prehistoric hunter-gatherers would have adapted to their environment, the tropical forest, and manufactured more complex implements in bamboo. The objective of the BeBamb project was to explore the potential adaptation of Late Pleistocene hunter gatherers to the forest in Palawan, Philippines and its modalities: were stone tools really used mainly to make bamboo tools?
By addressing this question, the project explored the influence of the environment on the development of human cultures and the relationship between our species and the rainforest.
It also opened a reflexion on how much lithic tools are representative of the technology of a society.
By addressing this question, the project explored the influence of the environment on the development of human cultures and the relationship between our species and the rainforest.
It also opened a reflexion on how much lithic tools are representative of the technology of a society.
As plants do not preserve well in the archaeological record, I gathered data by indirect means: by studying use-wear and residues present on stone tools used by prehistoric groups who lived at Tabon Cave Southern Palawan, Philippines, 39-33 000 years ago to conduct their everyday activities.
The results showed that not only bamboo was used but also other plants such as palm trees whose phytoliths (micro-plant remains) were observed on stone tools. The presence of specific distribution of use-wear attests of thinning fibres and splitting rigid plants, constituting indirect testimonies of the existence of organic technology during Prehistory.
To increase the possibility of diagnosis of the traces present on the artefacts, I analysed quantitatively the micro-polishes, areas that are very bright due to the friction between the processed materials and the tools, using confocal microscopy. The results of the analysis of experimental tools shows that it is possible to distinguish the processing of wood from the processing of Monocotyledon plants using this technique, but that it is difficult to go further and differentiate between bamboo, palm, rattan, and cannalike dona. A possible solution could be to analyse wider areas or to study other kinds of traces, such as striations.
BeBamb also explored the relationship between the forest and lithic technologies in other tropical regions of the world. Does living in the forest imply abandoning stone technology to focus on plant resources? Not necessarily. There is a tendency to a close relationship to plants and the modification of the vegetal cover that goes hand in hand with a simplification of the lithic industry in forested areas: Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, the Amazon, and even in Europe during the Mesolithic, a period characterised by the expansion of the forest. Nevertheless, Africa offers a counterexample as lithic tools were standardised and varied in time and space. This shows the importance not only of the environment but also of choices in the development of human cultures. In Southeast Asia, Maros Points from Sulawesi are very finely made and equally show that in this region has well, different groups have chosen to behave in varied ways.
BeBamb results are currently presented to the public in frame of the exhibition “Trajectories and Movements of the Philippine Identity” that was built up in collaboration with the Philippine community in Barcelona and with the participation of numerous actors such as the National Museum and the National Commission for Indigenous People of the Philippines.
Raw data generated by this project will be made available after publication on plantuseinseasia.net.
The results showed that not only bamboo was used but also other plants such as palm trees whose phytoliths (micro-plant remains) were observed on stone tools. The presence of specific distribution of use-wear attests of thinning fibres and splitting rigid plants, constituting indirect testimonies of the existence of organic technology during Prehistory.
To increase the possibility of diagnosis of the traces present on the artefacts, I analysed quantitatively the micro-polishes, areas that are very bright due to the friction between the processed materials and the tools, using confocal microscopy. The results of the analysis of experimental tools shows that it is possible to distinguish the processing of wood from the processing of Monocotyledon plants using this technique, but that it is difficult to go further and differentiate between bamboo, palm, rattan, and cannalike dona. A possible solution could be to analyse wider areas or to study other kinds of traces, such as striations.
BeBamb also explored the relationship between the forest and lithic technologies in other tropical regions of the world. Does living in the forest imply abandoning stone technology to focus on plant resources? Not necessarily. There is a tendency to a close relationship to plants and the modification of the vegetal cover that goes hand in hand with a simplification of the lithic industry in forested areas: Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, the Amazon, and even in Europe during the Mesolithic, a period characterised by the expansion of the forest. Nevertheless, Africa offers a counterexample as lithic tools were standardised and varied in time and space. This shows the importance not only of the environment but also of choices in the development of human cultures. In Southeast Asia, Maros Points from Sulawesi are very finely made and equally show that in this region has well, different groups have chosen to behave in varied ways.
BeBamb results are currently presented to the public in frame of the exhibition “Trajectories and Movements of the Philippine Identity” that was built up in collaboration with the Philippine community in Barcelona and with the participation of numerous actors such as the National Museum and the National Commission for Indigenous People of the Philippines.
Raw data generated by this project will be made available after publication on plantuseinseasia.net.
The project’s results add to the recent evidence showing that a plant-based perishable technology existed in Southeast Asia during Prehistory, but also add nuance to the Bamboo Hypothesis, showing that people invested in plant materials in a broader sense. Among this perishable technology were tying materials and possibly baskets, traps or other objects resulting from the weaving of plant strips such as the ones made using the artefacts from Tabon Cave. BeBamb’s discoveries highlight both the technological skills and botanical knowledge possessed by the inhabitants of Southern Palawan at the end of the Pleistocene.
The quantitative analysis of experimental tools pushed the possibilities of identifying plant processing activities by studying stone tools one step further. It opens the path to potential future developments.
The exhibition which presents this research project and its position in the wider archaeological and cultural context, aims at raising awareness of the richness of Philippine heritage, which is still largely ignored. To decolonise the discourse on non-European and indigenous heritage, it is participative and integrates the voices of different stakeholders, e.g. members of indigenous groups in the Philippines, artists, researchers, governmental offices, members of the Philippine community in Barcelona. Hopefully it will participate to the empowerment of Filipino immigrants or expatriates and to their integration within the European Union. I also hope that by giving more visibility to ethnic minorities it will help them preserve their culture and way of life that constitute part of the intangible heritage of humanity.
The quantitative analysis of experimental tools pushed the possibilities of identifying plant processing activities by studying stone tools one step further. It opens the path to potential future developments.
The exhibition which presents this research project and its position in the wider archaeological and cultural context, aims at raising awareness of the richness of Philippine heritage, which is still largely ignored. To decolonise the discourse on non-European and indigenous heritage, it is participative and integrates the voices of different stakeholders, e.g. members of indigenous groups in the Philippines, artists, researchers, governmental offices, members of the Philippine community in Barcelona. Hopefully it will participate to the empowerment of Filipino immigrants or expatriates and to their integration within the European Union. I also hope that by giving more visibility to ethnic minorities it will help them preserve their culture and way of life that constitute part of the intangible heritage of humanity.