Fa-Hien Lena Cave (Phase C)
Basic information
Sample name: Fa-Hien Lena Cave (Phase C)
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]
Geography
Country: Sri Lanka
Coordinate: 6° 38' 55" N, 80° 12' 55" E
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Section: 3769
Unit number: 3
Unit order: above to below
Max Ma: 0.01044
Min Ma: 0.01029
Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)
Geography comments: "Fa-Hien Lena is located in Sri Lanka’s Wet Zone region, near the town of Bulathsinhala, 75 km southeast of Colombo in a lowland evergreen rainforest environment".
Phase C dates to the Terminal Pleistocene, from c. 13,000 to 12,000 cal. BP, based on six radiocarbon dates ranging from 10,440 ± 40 to 10,290 ± 40 BP.
Phase C dates to the Terminal Pleistocene, from c. 13,000 to 12,000 cal. BP, based on six radiocarbon dates ranging from 10,440 ± 40 to 10,290 ± 40 BP.
Environment
Lithology: siltstone
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 C sediments are a very heterogeneous mixture of dark coloured organics-rich sandy silty loams, sandy loams and matrix-supported breccia with abundant charcoal and ash. Ash and charcoal are mixed with detrital sediments and also present as distinct laminae or lenses. Despite its relatively narrow temporal range, Phase C contains the densest concentration of artifacts and human occupation debris in the entire Fa-Hien stratigraphy".
"Phase C sediments are a very heterogeneous mixture of dark coloured organics-rich sandy silty loams, sandy loams and matrix-supported breccia with abundant charcoal and ash. Ash and charcoal are mixed with detrital sediments and also present as distinct laminae or lenses. Despite its relatively narrow temporal range, Phase C contains the densest concentration of artifacts and human occupation debris in the entire Fa-Hien stratigraphy".
Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,birds,lizards,snakes,other reptiles,frogs,fishes
Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash
Sample size: 1035 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".
Metadata
Sample number: 4041
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-10-29 14:32:47
Modified: 2023-05-30 03:19:17
Abundance distribution
39 species
3 singletons
total count 1035
geometric series index: 51.7
Fisher's α: 8.009
geometric series k: 0.8531
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8164
Shannon's H: 2.5300
Good's u: 0.9971
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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