Fa-Hien Lena Cave (Phase B)
Basic information
Sample name: Fa-Hien Lena Cave (Phase B)
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: Holocene
Section: 3769
Unit number: 2
Unit order: above to below
Max Ma: 0.00772
Min Ma: 0.0069
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 B dates to the Early Holocene, from c. 8700 to 8000 cal. BP, based on five radiocarbon dates ranging from 7,720 ± 40 to 6,900 ± 40 BP.
Phase B dates to the Early Holocene, from c. 8700 to 8000 cal. BP, based on five radiocarbon dates ranging from 7,720 ± 40 to 6,900 ± 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 B consists of two distinct lithostratigraphic units separated from the Terminal Pleistocene deposits by a sharp boundary that truncates underlying strata. The first unit consists of a series of subhorizontal layers of light brown sandy silts, matrix-supported collapse breccia and ash accumulations, with a moderate amount of artifacts and habitation debris. The second unit includes a large multi-stage pit. The pit consists of multiple layers of sandy silt and steeply-dipping accumulations of ash with abundant charcoal".
"Phase B consists of two distinct lithostratigraphic units separated from the Terminal Pleistocene deposits by a sharp boundary that truncates underlying strata. The first unit consists of a series of subhorizontal layers of light brown sandy silts, matrix-supported collapse breccia and ash accumulations, with a moderate amount of artifacts and habitation debris. The second unit includes a large multi-stage pit. The pit consists of multiple layers of sandy silt and steeply-dipping accumulations of ash with abundant charcoal".
Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,birds,lizards,snakes,fishes
Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash
Sample size: 715 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: 4040
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-10-29 14:09:33
Modified: 2023-05-30 03:19:15
Abundance distribution
36 species
9 singletons
total count 715
extrapolated richness: 57.1
Fisher's α: 7.991
geometric series k: 0.8523
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8288
Shannon's H: 2.4566
Good's u: 0.9874
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Current reference:
Buss and Smith 1966 (ER 2040)