Charcoal and micro-layers of soot trapped in speleothems from the inner galleries of Nerja Cave were analysed through an interdisciplinary study. The absolute dating of the prehistoric subterranean activity of the cave and the identification of different phases of visits to the deep parts are presented and discussed. The charcoal analysis includes anthracological analysis and SEM-EDX. The soot analysis includes optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and TEM-EDX, and the microcounting of soot microlayers. The C dating of 53 charcoals identified 12 phases of prehistoric visits to the cave between 41,218 and 3299 cal. BP, putting back the origin of human occupation of this emblematic cave by 10,000 years. The interdisciplinary analysis of the soot microlayers allowed us to perform a high-precision zoom on the last three visitation phases identified by Bayesian analysis (8003-2998 cal. BP.), demonstrating that these phases contain at least 64 distinct incursions, with an average of one visit every 35 years for the Neolithic period. Spatial analysis showed that not all areas of the cave were used in the same periods, highlighting the repetition of visits to certain specific sectors of the Lower Galleries of the cave. Lastly, the anthracological data indicate a cross-cultural and unique use of Pinus tp. sylvestris-nigra wood for lighting activities over an extended period between the Gravettian and Upper Magdalenian.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10090096 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32544-1 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Discriminating organic carbon from endokarstic moonmilk-type deposits by LIBS. The case of a natural carbonated Martian analogue.
Talanta
May 2024
UMALASERLAB, Departamento de Química Analítica, Universidad de Málaga, C/ Jiménez Fraud 4, 29010 Málaga, Spain. Electronic address:
Moonmilk-type deposits exemplify carbonated Martian analogues existing in the subsurface of Earth, an endokarstic speleothem with a possible biochemical origin composed principally by carbonates, mainly huntite and dolomite. In this work, samples of moonmilk located in Nerja Cave (southern Spain) have been studied by LIBS with the aim of identifying carbon of biogenic origin by establishing a relationship between a molecular emission indicator, CN signal, and the organic carbon content. The characterization of this kind of carbonate deposit with a multiple mineralogical composition has been completed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction techniques for qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRemote Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy of Bacterial Growths in Carbonate Rocks in a Mars-like Atmosphere.
Astrobiology
November 2023
UMALASERLAB, Departamento de Química Analítica, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
Understanding the past habitable environments of Mars increases the requirement to recognize and examine modern analogs and to evaluate the mechanisms that may preserve biosignatures in them. The phenomenon that originates and preserves possible microbial biosignatures in mineral phases is of particular interest in astrobiology. On Earth, the precipitation of carbonate matrices can be mediated by bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoronavirus pandemic: An opportunity to study the anthropogenic impact on micro-climate conditions and CaCO crystal morphology in the Nerja Cave (SE Spain).
Sci Total Environ
July 2023
Centre of Hydrogeology of University of Malaga and Department of Ecology and Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain. Electronic address:
Following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish Government restricted non-essential movements of all citizens and closed all public spaces, such as the Nerja Cave, until May 31, 2020. This particular condition of the closure of the cave provided a unique opportunity to study the micro-climate conditions and carbonate precipitation in this tourist cave without the presence of visitors. Our results show the significant effect of visitors on the air isotopic signature of the cave and on the genesis of the extensive dissolution features affecting the carbonate crystals formed in the tourist sector of the cave, alerting us to the possible corrosion of the speleothems located there.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF35,000 years of recurrent visits inside Nerja cave (Andalusia, Spain) based on charcoals and soot micro-layers analyses.
Sci Rep
April 2023
Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria (IIIPC), Universidad de Cantabria, 39005, Santander, Spain.
Charcoal and micro-layers of soot trapped in speleothems from the inner galleries of Nerja Cave were analysed through an interdisciplinary study. The absolute dating of the prehistoric subterranean activity of the cave and the identification of different phases of visits to the deep parts are presented and discussed. The charcoal analysis includes anthracological analysis and SEM-EDX.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobial communities in carbonate precipitates from drip waters in Nerja Cave, Spain.
PeerJ
January 2023
Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiologia (IRNAS-CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
Research on cave microorganisms has mainly focused on the microbial communities thriving on speleothems, rocks and sediments; however, drip water bacteria and calcite precipitation has received less attention. In this study, microbial communities of carbonate precipitates from drip waters in Nerja, a show cave close to the sea in southeastern Spain, were investigated. We observed a pronounced difference in the bacterial composition of the precipitates, depending on the galleries and halls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!