Israel Prehistoric Society / ‫העמותה הישראלית לפרהיסטוריה‬

/ On Determining Use of Pastoral Cave Sites: A Critical Assessment of Spherulites in

Archaeology
‫ מבט ביקורתי על השימוש בספרוליטים‬:‫על קביעת שימושם של אתרי מערות פסטורליים‬
‫בארכיאולוגיה‬
Author(s): YUVAL GOREN and ‫יובל גורן‬
Source:
Mitekufat Haeven: Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society /
‫מתקופת האבן‬
1999), pp. 123-128 ,‫כרך (תש"ס‬
Published by: Israel Prehistoric Society / ‫העמותה הישראלית לפרהיסטוריה‬
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23380036
Accessed: 21-01-2018 17:44 UTC

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Journal of The Israel Prehistoric Society 29 (1999), 123-128

On Determining Use of Pastoral Cave Sites:

A Critical Assessment of Spherulites in
Archaeology
YUVAL GOREN

Department of Archaeology
and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Tel-Aviv University,
Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978

ABSTRACT

Micromorphological and mineralogical examinations of mineral residues d

animal manure have raised some doubts about the validity of these componen
interpretation of animal domestication and herding in the Near Eastern a
record. These residues were found to be present also in the dung of non-d
animals which commonly inhabit caves, namely hyrax, pigeon and ibex.
previously suggested model, based on the micromorphological study of recent
recent herding cave sites, should be treated with caution when applied to Nea
sites.

INTRODUCTION

During the second half of this century, the question of the role of animal do
in the proto-historic Near East is gaining increasing attention due to i
importance for the comprehension of the development of formative a
societies. Zooarchaeological studies of Neolithic faunal assemblages have p
problematic in elucidating the origins of herding and breeding of ovic
bovids (e.g. Meadow 1989; Crabtree 1993). Therefore, additional clues fo
such activities in assumed pastoral sites are especially important for reco
particular socio-economic status of the society under investigation. One
additional studies that may provide more conclusive evidence are microm

123

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 124 GOREN

observatio
assumed a
inorganic
Courty 1
concentra
concentra
vegetal tis
circumstan
common c
During the last two decades, such evidence was collected through
micromorphological studies of several Neolithic sites in southern France and Greece
(Brochier 1983). Of special interest were the spherulites which were reported to exist
almost exclusively in the manure of caprovines. Later, these results were corroborated
by an ethnoarchaeological study of several cave sites in Sicily (Brochier et al. 1992),
where mineral residues originating in domestic herbivore dung were interpreted as one
of the most important criteria for the identification of such needs. Since caprovines tend
in most cases to be concentrated in cave sites when herded there by humans, it was
suggested that the concentration of spherulites in cave sites may serve as a criterion for
the attendance of shepherds. Therefore, the presence of these residues (especially
spherulites) in sites which had the potential to serve as animal enclosures was
interpreted as evidence for animal domestication (Brochier et al. 1992). In a later
review of the topic, this interpretation has been somewhat extended by the discoveiy of
spherulites in the manure of other domesticated herbivores too, such as bovidés (Canti
1997).
The issue of mineral residues derived from animal manure has drawn my attention
while training in the use of an on-site micromorphological laboratory in the course of
two field studies of sediments, carried out during the 1994 excavation seasons of the
Amud and Hayonim Caves. While training with on-site thin section preparation and
examination, it was suggested that several mineralogical phenomena observed in the
historical layers of these sites where in fact traces of animal concentration during the
Middle Bronze Age (at the Amud Cave) and the Byzantine period (at Hayonim). This
assumption seemed to justify a further study of this issue with an emphasis on the
special conditions of these two sites. Therefore, dung of several faunal species which
presently inhabit caves in this region, or may have inhabited them in past, was
examined by micromorphological means (in thin sections, under a polarizing
microscope). In addition, the mineralogy of these residues was examined by Fourier
Transform-Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry , an approach practiced and published in the
meantime also by Canti (1997). The results of this study raise some doubts

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ON DETERMINING USE OF PASTORAL CAVE SITES 125

concerning the hypotheses and conclusions of

studies.

METHOD

The study of prehistoric site deposits by means of mineralogical or chemical

is relatively new in archaeology. Apart from the more common micromorp
methods based on optical microscopy (see Courty et al. 1989 for det
references), other analytical methods are now being applied for the s
archaeological deposits (e.g. Weiner et al. 1993). In several cases, the on-site o
of these methods has provided valuable data which has aided the interpretation o
site sediments in the field, therefore facilitating improved excavation strategies
field archaeologist (Hunt and Griffiths 1989; Weiner and Goldberg 1990; Wei
1993).
For the purpose of this study, dung of several Levantine cave inhabiting or
stationing wild animals was collected. These included the rock hyrax (Prôcavia
capensiscapensis syriaca), the Egyptian fruit bat (Rosettus aegyptiacus aegyptiacus), the
common rat (Rattus rattus rattus), the pigeon (Columba livia) and the ibex (Capra ibex
nubiana).nubiana). In addition, dung of the gazelle (Gazella gazella) was examined for
comparison although this animal lives in the open. In order to prevent any possibility of
dietary biases, the dung was collected in nature (and not from animals in captivity),
preferably in undisturbed nature reserves or other unattended areas. The following
locations were used for dung collection: Hyrax manure was collected from a small cave,
inhabited only by these animals, in the cliffs of the Nahal Amud nature reserve (lower
Galilee). The fruit bat manure was collected from above a plastic sheet which covered
the excavated area of the Kebara Cave in Mount Carmel (Bar-Yosef et al. 1992). This
cave has been fenced in since the closing of the excavation, thus being inaccessible to
any larger mammal (except some human visitors equipped with the gate key who were
strictly ordered not to deposit any manure at the site). At present the cave is being
inhabited by about 2,000 fruit bats (according to the Authority of Nature Reserves
counts). The rat dung was collected from a rat captured at Hayonim Cave during the
1994 season. The pigeon manure was collected from a recent accumulation of guano
deposited in the Hayonim and the Amud Caves and from underneath a tile roof at
Kibbutz Kfar HaHoresh in the lower Galilee. The ibex dung was collected in the
En-Gedi nature reserve from a gathering location of a local flock of these animals.
Gazelle manure was collected near Shoresh in the Judean Mountains.

In order to observe the in situ concentrations of the mineral residues, dung samples
were subjected to gradual oven drying in vacuum conditions (about 15 Bars in 60°C for

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 126 GOREN

24 hours).
polyester
pétrograp
microscop
FTIR spect
desegregat
fine fract
analysis.
As a control group, dung of domesticated animals was collected and examined by
similar methods. These included dung of cow, sheep and horse. It was attempted to
collect dung from animals that were being fed with grass and/or straw rather than by
artificial mixtures. Therefore, the sheep dung was collected from herding locations of
Bedouins from the Judean Desert, whereas the cow and horse manure was collected
from animals kept by Arab villagers near Nazareth.

RESULTS

Microscopic examinations of the wild animal dung revealed that all, ex

the hyrax and the fruit bat manure, contained spherulites. These varied in
but in most cases when they appeared (Table 1), they were observed in sig
quantities that could easily be noticed at magnification of X200 and above. The qu
of the spherulites was not always dictated by the animal species, since they some
varied even between different droppings of the same animal species.
The volume of the spherulites and the druzes were estimated by counting
numbers in three different fields of the pétrographie microscope, at three d
locations of the coprolite section, at magnification of X200 (field diameter
microns). The numbers presented in Table 1 are averages of the three counts.
Very high concentrations of spherulites were observed in the ibex and
manure, whereas in the rat dung the spherulites were sometimes numerous and i
cases absent.

As opposed to the observations of Brochier et al. (1992: 56) and in agreement with
Canti (1997), our cow and horse samples also included spherulites. In the horse dung,
these were extremely common. As we insisted on sampling manure of grass feeding
animals, the occurrence of these spherulites was not due to the use of artificial food
mixtures with which these animals are sometimes fed.

Our attempts to determine the mineralogy of the spherulites and druzes by FTIR
spectroscopy revealed peaks of calcite. In this respect, we have nothing to add to the
very detailed examinations performed by Brochier et al. (1992) and Canti (1997).

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 ON DETERMINING USE OF PASTORAL CAVE SITES 127

Table 1: Volumes of spherulites and druzes in

Spherulites
Animmal and sample Druzes (volume)
number (volume)
Rat, Hayonim Cave 5 4

Ibex, En-Gedi 340 15

Hyrax, Nahal Amud 42

Gazelle, Shoresh 104 18

Pigeon, Shoresh 365

Fruit bat, Kebara Cave

Horse, Nazareth 294 12

Cow, Nazareth 134 8

Sheep, Jerusalem-Jericho road 167 3

The exact mineralogy of the spherulites, their origin and their modes of crystallization
from calcium oxalate within the animals' intestines still await a detailed investigation.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study call for some caution in interpreting the presence of s
in cave site sediments. As shown by the previous researches, the pr
spherulites, druzes and phytoliths in cave sediments can serve as an important
for human herding activities when they are accompanied by additional indicati
animal milk teeth, rock polish, built stone walls and milking installations). How
least in Middle Eastern sites, spherulites, druzes and phytoliths alone cann
criteria for animal domestication in a given cave site since similar mineral resi
been found to be deposited also by typical cave dwelling wild animals. M
spherulites in quantities exceeding these found in the sheep dung were fou
pigeon and ibex coprolites. Since the distribution of the pigeon is m
widespread and includes also Europe (Bruun 1978: 166), these conclusions
pertinent also to that region. Therefore, in the debate whether a cave site was
by domestic animals or not, the presence of dung-derived minerals may
evidence only when other indications support this hypothesis.

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 128 GOREN

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was carried out as part of a research project on the micromorpho
Amud Cave sediments, granted by Irene Levy-Sala CARE Archaeological
The author would like to thank Liora Kolska-Horvitz, Rivka Rabinovich
Weiner for their advise.

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