Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

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HALA ALARASHI
and only few in the Late PPNB levels. Two of these
cowries (n°CM-30a and CM-57) were previously analyzed
by C. Maréchal (Maréchal 1995). Descriptions
given for these elements in the present study come
exclusively from the Maréchal’s paper.
2. METHODOLOGY
For the terminology of the anatomical parts of
the cowrie shell, I refer to the work of F. Lorenz and
A. Hubert (2000). Figure 3 shows the main terms
used in this study.
The taxonomical identification of the
Cypraeidae discovered between 2001 and 2007
has been made by Dr. David S. Reese (pers.
comm.). Erosaria spurca was identified for all the
items except for the object n° 42 (Fig. 2e). This latter
could belong to Luria lurida. Both species live in
the Mediterranean Sea. C. Maréchal already identified
one Monetaria moneta (Maréchal 1995: 135),
species coming from the Red Sea.
The state of preservation of the shells is generally
poor. Most of them look fragile and have lost their
natural colors. Moreover, due to the bad preservation
of the shell structure, some elements have cracked
and been damaged after excavation. Indeed, three
cowries found together in the same stratigraphic
context were particularly fragile. Two of them have
immediately broken just after they were taken out of
the earth (n°9 and 43), and a third one, (n°42) just
after being photographed. It was not then possible to
analyze microscopically these three cowries.
Post-depositional processes could have been
responsible for the low preservation of the cowries
at Tell Aswad, as observed for the animal and
human bone remains (L. Gourichon, pers. comm.).
It is therefore difficult to determine the original state
of the shell surface at the time when the cowries
were imported into the site. They could have been
Figure 3. Main anatomical parts of the cowrie shell.
collected already dead from the seashore rather
than gathered alive. However, the provenance of
the shells cannot be deduced from a microscopic
examination because fresh collected shells eventually
present in the collection would have been
modified superficially by post-depositional process.
This study focuses on the human-made modifications
of the cowries of Tell Aswad. Most of the
elements were examined using a stereomicroscope
(Motic SMZ-168) with a maximum magnification
of 40x.
3. RESULTS
3.1. Removal of the dorsum
At Tell Aswad, the dorsum of the cowries is
absent for thirteen cases. For eight items the surface
of the edge of the missing dorsum is flat and
quite regular (n°11, 33, 35, 132, 144, 176, 180,
see Fig. 2; n°CM-57, cf. Maréchal 1995: fig. 115h).
Two cowries (n°104 and 180; respectively Fig. 2h
and 2c) have overall a straight plane of opening
although the edge is heavily damaged. An incomplete
cowrie (columellar part n°143, Fig. 2d)
shows very smooth but not flat edge. Finally, there
are no precise descriptions for three cowries: specimen
n°CM-30a, studied by C. Maréchal
(Maréchal 1995: fig. 115c), and specimens n°9
and 42 (Fig. 2e).
Natural processes can abrade and even perforate
dead gastropod shells exposed on the
seashore. In the case of the hard-textured cowrie
shell, it is hardly expected that such natural modification
produces regular and flat plane of a removed
dorsum, but exceptional cases could occur.
Technologically, the removal of the dorsum consists
in taking away the rounded part of the dorsal
surface. This results in a large opening situated in
the opposite face of the natural aperture of the shell
(ventral side). Among the methods commonly used
for making perforations on shells, at least three
main techniques could have been employed to
remove the dorsum of the cowrie shells: grinding,
sawing and hammering. The grinding technique
leaves a flattened ridge around the hole (Francis
1989, Maréchal 1991, 1995, Bar-Yosef 1997;
Maréchal et Alarashi 2008). Spindle-shaped striations
are normally observed on the surrounding
surface; their arrangement can indicate the orientation
of the abrasion (d’Errico et al. 1993).
Sawing technique is also commonly used for
making holes in gastropod or bivalve shells but
MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
S.C. Aranzadi. Z.E. Donostia/San Sebastián