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Dung as Construction Material During the Emergence of Animal Domestication: A Multi-Proxy Approach

Dung as Construction Material During the Emergence of Animal Domestication: A Multi-Proxy Approach
The aim of MapDung is to explore the possible early use of dung for construction as a proxy for understanding human-animal-environment relations and ecosystem.

The transition from foragers to farmers c. 12,000 years ago, is marked by plants and animal domestication, as well as by the exploitation of animal by-products such as milk, wool, and dung. Dung is a valuable material that can be used as fertilizer, fuel and for constructions, however, unlike other by-products, dung exploitation is less studied. While archaeological evidence for dung used as fuel and manure are increasing, its use for constructions has been hardly identified, despite ethnographic accounts that the use of dung for construction is still common in many societies. Studying human exploitation of dung in general and its use as a construction material in particular facilitates the understanding of human-animal relations, subsistence practices, human technology, and human impact on the environment. The use of dung in the construction of houses, installations and floors was a novelty in the exploitation of this resource, enabled by a better understanding of its technical characteristics. It provides information on resource management according to human needs and environmental conditions (e.g. prioritizing construction over fuel or vice versa), which adds an innovative view-point on human adaptation strategies. Furthermore, it offers insights on socio-cultural practices as ethnographic studies show that in most current societies activities related to dung use are almost exclusively carried out by women, and thus have a clear aspect of gender division of labor. All these aspects are especially important when exploring early utilization of dung at the dawn of domestication and the emergence of more complex societies during the early Neolithic.

Thus, it is important to understand if its absence from the archaeological record is the result of human preference or a research/preservation bias. The aim of MapDung is therefore to explore the possible early use of dung for construction as a proxy for understanding human-animal-environment relations and ecosystem. The specific project’s goals are: 1) To develop new multi-proxy methodology for improved identification, focused on construction materials; 2) Studying the post depositional processes that affect archaeological dung used for construction; 3) Providing wide regional understanding of the utilization of animal secondary products during the early Neolithic Period and the gender division of labor regarding its use. MapDung will focus on early Neolithic Period sites from the core area of early animal domestication- the Near East. The sites chosen for the study are; 1) Çatalhöyük (c. 9.4–8 ka), a multilayered PPNB mound located in Central Anatolia, 2) Sharara, a small PPNA site at Wadi Hasa, Jordan, and 3) Motza, a PPNC rural site located at the western edge of Jerusalem in the Judean hills. The diversity of the three sites will allow comparison of the depositional and post depositional processes of dung remains in three different climatic regimes, and will also provide a wider regional and temporal view on dung utilization during the Neolithic Period.

By using a multidisciplinary approach, new techniques and working strategies will be develop to securely identify the use of dung as a construction material. Archaeological materials will be analyzed using micromorphology, FTIR analysis, quantification of dung micro-remains, elemental analysis, GC-MS and geo-statistics. MapDung will explore the gender division of labor in relation to dung use using ethnographic sources. MapDung is expected to expand our understanding of human technology, resources exploitation, and subsistence practices along the Early Neolithic period, one of the most critical transitions in human history. The project will be carried at UPF and in collaboration with scholars in Germany, Turkey, Israel and Jordan.

UPF Press release on the MapDung Project - click here (in Spanish).

Principal researchers

Shira Gur-Arieh and Marco Madella

Funding for this project was from the European Commission H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA)