Bone as a Fuel: Studying the Properties Based on the Results of Experimental Observations
https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2023-22-3-24-35
Abstract
Purpose. Burnt animal bones are regularly found at archaeological sites of different eras and territories. One of the popular hypotheses suggests that they were used as fuel. The purpose of this work, based on experimental observations, is to determine the combustion temperature regime of bones different types in comparison with wood.
Results. A series of nine experimental bonfires revealed the following advantages of bone as fuel: 1) increase in the maximum combustion temperature to 800–900 °C versus 600–700 °C in a fire with wood fuel only; 2) increase in the average range of combustion temperature by more than 100 °C; 3) minimization of temperature fluctuations; 4) ensuring a stable high temperature. We also found that the bones condition (fresh / dry; unbroken / fragmented) and its structure (the predominance of compact / spongy bone tissue) affects its combustible properties. Fresh bones with spongy tissue predominance (the spine, limbs bones) have the best qualities. Dry fragmented bones burn much worse and have no advantages over other fuels.
Conclusion. Thus, animal bones are not universal independent fuel. Some of its properties could be used for operations requiring a stable high temperature. It could be simple activities (cooking, heating, hearth maintenance, drying) and the specialized ones.
Supporting agencies: This work was funded by Russian Science Foundation, project no. 20-78-00115
About the Author
M. S. Nesterova
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Marina S. Nesterova, Candidate of Science (History)
Scopus Author ID 57191256001
WoS Researcher ID Q-3214-2016
Novosibirsk
References
1. Benecke N., Vasiliev S. K., Molodin V. I., Mylnikova L. N., Nesterova M. S., Reinhold S. Vengerovo-2 – a Krotovo Culture Site in the Baraba Forest-Steppe: An Archaeozoological Study. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia, 2021, vol. 49 (2), pp. 53–63. DOI 10.17746/1563-0110.2021.49.2.053-063
2. Beyries S. Modélisation du travail du cuir en ethnologie: proposition d’un système ouvert à l’archéologie. Anthropozoologica, 2008, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 9–42.
3. Cain C. R. Using Burned Animal Bone to Look at Middle Stone Age Occupation and Behavior. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2005, vol. 32, pp. 873–884.
4. Chindina L. A. Drevnyaya istoriya Srednego Priob'ya v epokhu zheleza: kulaiskaya kul'tura [Ancient history of the Middle Ob region in the Iron Age: Kulai culture]. Tomsk, TSU Press, 1984, 256 p. (in Russ.)
5. Clattenburg G. Thermal Properties of Cancellous Bone. Journal of Biomedical Materials Re-search, 1975, vol. 9, pp. 169–182.
6. Costamagno S., Théry-Parisot I., Castel J. C., Brugal J.-F. Combustible ou non? Analyse multifactorielle et modèles explicatifs sur des ossements brûlées paléolithiques. In: Gestion des Combustibles au Paléolithique et au Mésolithique: Nouveaux Outils, Nouvelles Interpretations. Oxford, Archaeopress, 2009, pp. 65–84.
7. Gallo G., Fyhrie M., Paine C., Ushakov S. V., Izuho M., Gunchinsuren B., Zwyns N., Navrotsky A. Characterization of Structural Changes in Modern and Archaeological burnt bone: Implications for Differential Preservation Bias. PLoS ONE, 2021, vol. 16 (7), e0254529. DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0254529
8. Grishin Yu. S. Drevnyaya dobycha medi i olova [Ancient mining of copper and tin]. Moscow, Nauka, 1980, 186 p. (in Russ.)
9. Herodotus. Istoriya v devyati knigakh [The Nine Books of the History]. Leningrad, Nauka, 1972, 604 p. (in Russ.)
10. Joly D., March R. Etude des ossements brûlés: essai de correlation de methodes pour la determination des temperatures. In: Le feu domestique et ses structures au néolithique et aux ages des métaux, Actes du colloque Intern. de Bourgen Bresse et Beaune, 7–8 Octobre 2000. Mon- tagnac, Ed. Monique Mergoil, 2003, pp. 299–310.
11. Lévi-Strauss C. La Pensée sauvage, Paris, Pion, 1962, 389 p.
12. Marquer L., Otto T., Nespoulet R., Chiotti L. A New Approach to Study the Fuel Used in Hearths by Hunter-Gatherers at the Upper Palaeolithic Site of Abri Pataud (Dordogne, France). Journal of Archaeological Science, 2010, vol. 37 (11), pp. 2735–2746.
13. Morin E. Implication taphonomiques de l’utilisation de l’os comme combustible. Palethnologie, 2010, vol. 2, pp. 215–223.
14. Petrovicheva T. I., Zubavichus E. Ya. Osobennosti ispol'zovaniya kosti kak topliva dlya kostrov v verkhnem paleolite Russkoi ravniny [Features of the use of bones as fuel for campfires in the Upper Paleolithic of the Russian Plain]. Arkheologiya evraziiskikh stepei [Archaeology of the Eurasian Steppes], 2020, no. 5, pp. 17–24. (in Russ.) DOI 10.24852/2587-6112.2020.5.17.24
15. Pijoan С. M., Mansilla J., Leboreiro I., Lara V. H., Bosch P. Thermal Alterations in Archaeological Bones. Archaeometry, 2007, vol. 49, pp. 713–727. DOI 10.1111/J.1475-4754.2007.00331.X
16. Shipman P., Foster G., Schoeninger M. Burnt Bones and Teeth: An Experimental Study of Color, Morphology, Crystal Structure and Shrinkage. Journal of Archaeological Science, 1984, vol. 11 (4), pp. 307–325.
17. Solari A., Olivera D., Gordillo I., Bosch P., Fetter G., Lara V. H., Novelo O. Cooked Bones? Method and Practice for Identifying Bones Treated at Low Temperature. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2015, vol. 25, pp. 426–440. DOI 10.1002/oa.2311
18. Théry-Parisot I., Brugal J.-P., Costamagno S., Guilbert R. Conséquences taphonomiques de l’utilisation des ossements comme combustible. Approche expérimentale. Les nouvelles de l’Archéologie, 2004, vol. 95, pp. 19–22.
19. Théry-Parisot I., Costamagno S. Propriétés combustibles des ossements: Données expérimentales et réfl exions archéologiques sur leur emploi dans les sites paléolithiques. Gallia préhistoire, 2005, vol. 47, pp. 235–254.
20.
Review
For citations:
Nesterova M.S. Bone as a Fuel: Studying the Properties Based on the Results of Experimental Observations. Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology. 2023;22(3):24-35. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2023-22-3-24-35
Views:
292
Email this article 