ArticleeLife2019
'Palaeoshellomics' reveals the use of freshwater mother-of-pearl in prehistory.
Article in eLife, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A global synthesis of ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalve molluscs.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2022Pooled it
- A library of avian proteins improves palaeoproteomic taxonomic identification and reveals widespread intraspecies variability.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Paleoproteomics.Chemical reviews · 2022Review
- A primer for ZooMS applications in archaeology.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Review
- Mantle Modularity Underlies the Plasticity of the Molluscan Shell: Supporting Data FromFrontiers in genetics · 2021Article
- Ancient protein analysis in archaeology.Science advances · 2021Review
- First sequencing of ancient coral skeletal proteins.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Eumelanin and pheomelanin pigmentation in mollusc shells may be less common than expected: insights from mass spectrometry.Frontiers in zoology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The extensive use of mollusc shell as a versatile raw material is testament to its importance in prehistoric times. The consistent choice of certain species for different purposes, including the making of ornaments, is a direct representation of how humans viewed and exploited their environment. The necessary taxonomic information, however, is often impossible to obtain from objects that are small, heavily worked or degraded. Here we propose a novel biogeochemical approach to track the biological origin of prehistoric mollusc shell. We conducted an in-depth study of archaeological ornaments using microstructural, geochemical and biomolecular analyses, including 'palaeoshellomics', the first application of palaeoproteomics to mollusc shells (and indeed to any invertebrate calcified tissue). We reveal the consistent use of locally-sourced freshwater mother-of-pearl for the standardized manufacture of 'double-buttons'. This craft is found throughout Europe between 4200-3800 BCE, highlighting the ornament-makers' profound knowledge of the biogeosphere and the existence of cross-cultural traditions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.