Ruth Carden 🦴Since it's #ScienceWeek 2022 in Ireland, here's a thread for the next 7 days on the untold Origins Story of the #IrishCaveBones project which I started back in 2007 as a personal project. The origins story starts in 2007 to current day with the milestones and some signfiicant Irish discoveries on the way. As you will find out the #IrishCaveBones project originated out of curiosity and a quest for knowledge on my part and it continued to present day & into the future. #isci #SciComm #SciCommIE
Back in 2007/8, during research access to the National Museum of Ireland collections for the origins of Irish red deer project (published Carden et al., 2012 bit.ly/3g2CRhm), to the antiquarian archived animal bones excavation from many different Irish caves which were excavated during late 1800s to mid-1900s, I saw mis-identified red deer bones. These were labelled as pig, sheep, horse and reindeer bones. #IrishCaveBones #iSciComm #SciCommIE #iSci
I asked and was given permission by the Museum staff, to start a full reassessment and (re)identification of all caves’ bones using up to date zooarchaeological recording techniques and creating a unique catalogue of all the bones. And so, the #IrishCaveBones project began… from just a few empty tables in the museum’s stores to tables filled with bones and fragments. #IrishCaveBones #iSciComm #SciCommIE #iSci .... more tomorrow :) (or later today... my natural night owl is showing!)
Back in early years of the #IrishCaveBones project, I was interested in knowing what faunal species were here in Quaternary Ireland, & by knowing the dates/when, we could piece together past ecosystems & investigate why some species survived whilst others didn’t.
But also how and when faunal species got to Ireland - the colonisation of our island in the past in terms of animals and plants. #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE #iSciComm
And this mutual interest was developed in chats with Allan McDevitt (now ATU), whom had worked with me on the Irish red deer paper. So a long collaboration involving many projects started with Allan McDevitt (now ATU) began and still continues to this day. As we still try to answer the colonisation of Ireland many questions, but we have some! We became very good friends too.
#IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE #iSciComm
#IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE #iSciComm
But I jumped forward a few years and digressed a little, only due to mention of the red deer origins paper… but first a need for some coffee to get my brain cells in order to tell you about the next milestone of this untold origins story of #IrishCaveBones project.
In 2009/10, I got into conversations with a recent appointment lecturer to the Sch. of Archaeology, University College Dublin, and now Assoc. Prof., Helen Lewis.
Helen is involved with archaeological cave research in the Philippines, but very interested in Irish caves and what we can learn of their past, how sediments were laid down and their faunal histories - caves provide us with a secret window into the past, snap shots in time.
Our skill sets & interests complemented each other and Helen& I started to work together.
We applied for different funding and were succesful on a small grant with The Heritage Council, Ireland in 2010. This allowed me to work fulltime for 3 mths, to start with Co. Clare cave complex, where all the bones were mixed together, so not only did I use traditional zooarchaeological analysis and techinques, I also had to do basic sorting cave by cave, species by species
The Co.Clare cave complex consists of 5 caves worth of bones, all mixed together & with an est. count of c.20,000 bone fragments. First excavated by RJ Ussher and his team in 1902-04. What secrets do they hold?
Listen to their whispers ... I did!
The Clare cave complex or Edenvale Cave complex (just outside Ennis) holds a diverse species mix of pre-Ice Age and post-Ice Age (or LGM).
There were some worked bone artefacts like the bone pin below found amongst the bones. Don't forget these bones had not be looked at in years at any length, not since their original excavation in the early 1900s.
All in over that 3 month period funded by The Heritage Council, I handled, sorted, measured, recorded some of the Edenvale Cave complex bones (c.11,700 bone fragments), and corrected the mis-identifications made in the past by Scharff et al. (1906).
And then the funding ran out. Helen and I applied for more grants but were unsuccessful and I just continued on in my spare time and on holidays where I could - sorting, recording, measuring, identifying. Listening to the bones whispering their secrets to me over many long days.
Helen Lewis (UCD) & I remained in contact, still eager to continue our collaboration on what Ireland's past through the use of the caves' and their faunal remains could tell us.
But who cared for a pile of old bones sitting forgotten in the stores?
Time passed on, I continued coming back to the stores to continue the work but could only do so much per year given other (paid) work commitments.
But what I found in this box below in 2015, changed my thinking of Ireland's fuanal past. :)
Cliffhanger, more tomorrow!
Now where was I...ah yes, a certain bone from this box told me their special secrets which changed Irish archaeology and made me dismantle any boxes in my thinking about Ireland and its colonisation of animals and humans ... it was ...
this bone, 👇 I identified as an adult male brown bear patella, or knee cap, that show (eroded bone and) human modified cut marks. I got the cut marks independently verified by Emeritus Prof. Terry O'Connor
& Prof. Alice Choyke 🥳
I was eager to have this brown bear knee cap bone radiocarbon dated, because the cut marks were made on fresh 'green' bone, shortly after the death of the bear, then the date might be hugely important. #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE
We know, with evidence to date, the brown bears exist into the Bronze Age in Ireland, and brown bears have been dated to before and after the Last Ice Age (LGM) ... so the game was afoot! #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE
The returned radiocarbon date from14CHRONO radiocarbon dating lab in Queen's University Belfast, was AMAZING!!!! One minute Irish Archaeology started in the early Mesolithic and then after reading the results, Irish Archaeology had a Upper Palaeolithic human presence, in c.10,800yrsBP! #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE
So, I dismantled all the boxes in my head, the saying 'to think outside the box' is very apt...I now ask 'What box?' This new Upper Palaeolithic date shows us humans were in Ireland hunting brown bears...a large adult male brown bear. #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE
During the later stages of the brief mini cold snap, Younger Dryas, effecting Ireland that seemingly caused the giant deer extirpation on our island. Or now we have human presence, did humans hunt giant deer too? #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE
This amazing and very surprising discovery changed how we looked at Ireland. Discussions with Allan McDevitt and Daniel Buckley, long time friends and colleagues with mutual interests, and others changed dramatically!! What else was happening at that time? We now have to think about knock on effects on fauna/flora. #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE
Also during 2015, I had finished a full reassessment and identification of the cave bones of Ballynamintra Cave, Co. Waterford and Dr Richard Jennings (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) extended invite to collaborate on this cave. #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE
And so another cave collaboration was developed with a team of excellent researchers. Richard succesfully obtained 3 years worth of funding from the Royal Irish Academy, to conduct new excavations at the cave. And Ballynamintra cave has it's own secrets ... #IrishCaveBones #SciCommIE
to give up in due time. Full paper is nearly ready of all of our combined efforts and contributions and there are possiblilities there too..... but I won't spoil them here....yet
Tune in tomorrow evening for more on origins story of the #IrishCaveBones project. I saw this view across from the desk in the Museum stores for many many years - beautiful in late afternoon golden light - where the magic happened & the bones told me their secrets!
Francis ☑️@ruthfcarden cliffhanger? Savage.
Adam S. Smith@ruthfcarden Ooh that's a lot of bones!
@AdamStuartSmith only a fraction of what’s there 🤣🤣 although there were much more but over the past decades the museum policies changed and ‘disposed’ of a LOT of them.