A cross post from:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/
Quote:
<A point is decorated with a spiral groove filled with red ochre, which closely parallels similar marks that San make to identify their arrowheads when hunting.>
Red ochre was also used by the ancients as
an aggregate in adhesive.
“Compound adhesives made from red ochre
mixed with plant gum were used in the Middle
Stone Age (MSA), South Africa. Replications
reported here suggest that early artisans did not
merely color their glues red; they deliberately
effected physical transformations involving
chemical changes from acidic to less acidic pH,
dehydration of the adhesive near wood fires,
and changes to mechanical workability and
electrostatic forces. Some of the steps required
for making compound adhesives seem impossible
without multitasking and abstract thought.”
Quote:
<A mixture of beeswax, Euphorbia resin, and possibly egg, wrapped in vegetal fibers, dated to 40,000 BP, may have been used for hafting >
At first I questioned the of the claim that the
early artisans used Euphorbia resin in the
hafting recipe. I thought that if they were
desiring to create an adhesive, would it not
be more logical to use propolis in the recipe?
Propolis, when heated, will become somewhat
hardened. And could the presence of Euphorbia
in the mixture of beeswax have originated from
Euphoribia propolis, which bees are known
to collect?. So why beeswax?
I research,,,, and find:
Source:
Implications for complex cognition from the
hafting of tools with compound adhesives in
the MiddleStone Age, South Africa
“Hardness seems unimportant to the success or
failure of adhesives, because synthetic Fe203
adhesives were harder than any other adhesives,
yet they were always unsuccessful (Table 1),
Whereas adhesives including beeswax were softer,
yet they displayed desirable workability, cohesiveness,
consistence, and plasticity Only a small amount of
beeswax (for example, 15% by weight) was needed
to achieve ideal plasticity and cohesiveness; larger
amounts led to creep and shrinkage.”
“The consistently most successful adhesives -that
is, those that did not allow the stone insert to
break from its haft when the tool was used were
those with red ochre no. 15 (95% success rate;
Table 1). Adhesives incorporating small amounts
of beeswax were always successful.”
“Adding ochre to gum seems to create a less
brittle product and act as a desiccant to prevent
gum from dissolving under damp conditions “
“Fire was an essential tool for dehydrating our
adhesives; they dried within 4 hours near a
controlled fire but took 6 days to dry in
ambient temperatures.”
Source:
Implications for complex cognition from the hafting of tools
with compound adhesives in the MiddleStone Age, South Africa
http://wits.academia.edu/TammyHodgskiss/Papers/250379/Implications_for_Complex_Cognition_From_the_Hafting_of_Tools_With_Compound_Adhesives_In_the_Middle_Stone_Age_South_Africa
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
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