british and irish archaeological bibliography
Critical reassessment of putative Acheulean Porosphaera globularis beads
Pages & Document Description:
25 - 34; colour pls; figs (some colour); refs; tables
Abstract:
Tests the hypothesis that fossil sponges belonging to the Late Cretaceous species Porosphaera globularis represent beads. Thirteen samples of Porosphaera from nine sites (excavated in the late nineteenth century) in Britain and France were analysed. The results are argued to show that archaeological specimens are significantly different in size and perforation pattern from those of a natural geological sample. It is suggested that this may be due to size-sorting caused by sedimentary processes, size-selection by Palaeolithic people or by nineteenth-century collectors. Concludes that new excavations of these sites, involving systematic screening of sediments, are needed in order to provide further samples for research.
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