Abstract
Bone has long served as a versatile raw material in human societies due to its durability, workability, and availability. However, identifying the animal species used in worked bone artifacts remains challenging, as manufacturing processes and use-wear often remove diagnostic morphological features. This study applies Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) to investigate raw material selection in textile-related bone tools from Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain), the capital of Roman Lusitania, dating to the 1st − 3rd centuries CE. The archaeological context of the assemblage is particularly significant, originating from contexts consisting of a bone processing workshop for the manufacture and sale of bone objects that is one of the first installations of this type identified in the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 36 artifacts associated with textile production were analyzed where five main taxonomic groups were identified: Bos taurus, Bovidae/Cervidae, Cervus elaphus, Elephas maximus, and an unidentified avian species. These results indicate a functional selection of common domestic and wild taxa, while the presence of exotic materials points to long-distance trade networks and the potential symbolic or social significance of certain artifacts, particularly in funerary contexts.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Stefanie Schirmer from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology for her support in this research project. This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through the strategic project of UNIARQ – Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa (DOI: 10.54499/UID/00698/2025).
Funding
Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This study was supported by the project TEXLUS. La economía del artesanado textil en la Lusitania romana (grant PID2022-136663NB-I00), funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) MCIN/AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033/, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the Max Planck Society.
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Paladugu, R., Antonosyan, M., Bustamante-Álvarez, M. et al. Characterization of raw material in textile bone instruments from the capital of the Roman Province of Lusitania (Mérida, Spain).
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-55935-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-55935-6
Keywords
- Craftmanship
- Collagen
- Peptide mass fingerprinting
- Iberia
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