Sample name: Fa-Hien Lena Cave (Phase A)

Reference: O. Wedage, N. Amano, M. C. Langley, K. Douka, J. Blinkhorn, A. Crowther, S. Deraniyagala, N. Kourampas, I. Simpson, N. Perera, A. Picin, N. Boivin, M. Petraglia, and P. Roberts. 2019. Specialized rainforest hunting by Homo sapiens 45, 000 years ago. Nature Communications 10(1):739 [ER 3769]

Lithology: claystone

Taphonomic context: cave,human accumulation

Archaeology: bone tools,hearths,stone tools

Habitat comments: "The cave, on the slope of a gneiss cliff, has a c. 30 m by 20 m east-facing entrance, an interior that extends c. 10 m into the cliff, and two main chambers (termed shelters A and B). The site is divided into four distinct phases, corresponding to concentrations of charcoal, faunal remains, and artifacts, including osseous tools, shell beads, and quartz flakes; each represent the major periods of human occupation of the cave".
"Phase A comprises two distinct stratigraphic units. The first unit is composed of brown sandy loams and lenses of charcoal deposited directly above a multi-stage pit. These deposits appear to have resulted from the building of hearths. Above these deposits come c. 25-35 cm of sharp-based, brown sandy and silty clays with little internal structure. These deposits are interpreted as dumps, derived from prehistoric habitation contexts".

Life forms: bats,carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,birds,lizards,snakes,frogs,fishes

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 189 specimens

Years: 2009 - 2012

Sampling comments: "Fa-Hien Lena was systematically excavated over several seasons from 1986 to 1988, and from 2009 to 2012. The paper presents the results of the analyses of materials from the 2009 to 2012 excavations. Shelter A, the larger of the cave’s chambers, was excavated to a depth of over 6 m". No further excavation details are provided, although "all bone fragments from sedimentary contexts with secure radiocarbon dates were included in the analysis".

Sample number: 4039

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-10-29 13:21:48

Modified: 2023-05-30 03:19:12