{"title":"Burnt ant nests and their parallels with Mesolithic charcoal-rich pits: A comment on Huisman et al. (2024)","authors":"Philippe Crombé , Roger Langohr","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106186","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This short paper provides arguments against Huisman et al.’s (2024) conclusion that Mesolithic “pit-hearths” are definitely anthropogenic in origin. We believe that this conclusion is insufficiently supported by the presented data and the size of the study, which is limited to two recent ant nests. The main problem resides in the assumption that Humus-iron Podzols pre-date the construction of “pit-hearths” and ant nests contain only little organic remains that are vulnerable to forest fires. In this comment paper we present arguments to the contrary.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106186"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Archaeological Science","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440325000354","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This short paper provides arguments against Huisman et al.’s (2024) conclusion that Mesolithic “pit-hearths” are definitely anthropogenic in origin. We believe that this conclusion is insufficiently supported by the presented data and the size of the study, which is limited to two recent ant nests. The main problem resides in the assumption that Humus-iron Podzols pre-date the construction of “pit-hearths” and ant nests contain only little organic remains that are vulnerable to forest fires. In this comment paper we present arguments to the contrary.
这篇短文反驳了Huisman et al.(2024)的结论,即中石器时代的“坑炉”绝对是人为的起源。我们认为,目前的数据和研究的规模不足以支持这一结论,这仅限于最近的两个蚂蚁巢穴。主要的问题在于,假设腐殖质铁灰泥早于“坑式壁炉”的建造,而蚁巢只含有很少的易受森林火灾影响的有机残留物。在这篇评论文章中,我们提出了与此相反的论点。
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Archaeological Science is aimed at archaeologists and scientists with particular interests in advancing the development and application of scientific techniques and methodologies to all areas of archaeology. This established monthly journal publishes focus articles, original research papers and major review articles, of wide archaeological significance. The journal provides an international forum for archaeologists and scientists from widely different scientific backgrounds who share a common interest in developing and applying scientific methods to inform major debates through improving the quality and reliability of scientific information derived from archaeological research.