Bacteria, guano and soot: Source assessment of organic matter preserved in black laminae in stalagmites from caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca (N Spain)

Authors

Joeri Kaal, Pyrolyscience, Madrid, SpainFollow
Virginia Martínez-Pillado, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, SpainFollow
Antonio Martínez Cortizas, Facultade de Bioloxía, Santiago de Compostela, SpainFollow
Jorge Sanjurjo Sánchez, Universidade da Coruña, SpainFollow
Arantza Aranburu, University of the Basque Country, Bizkaia, SpainFollow
Juan-Luis Arsuaga, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, SpainFollow
Eneko Iriarte, University of Burgos, SpainFollow

Highlights

• We determined the molecular composition of speleothem organics in black laminae
• Py-GC-MS and THM-GC-MS indicate bacteria, soot and guano remains
• Soot marks nearby human activity but microbial sources prevail
• Molecular screening of bulk organics is a tool to decide further targeted analyses

Abstract

Speleothems are a recognized source of paleoclimatic information, but their value as a source of signals from human activities in caves with an archaeological record has rarely been explored. Previous studies of speleothems in the Sierra de Atapuerca karst system (Burgos, northern Spain) revealed an important human fossil record, provided information about human activities in and around these caves, and the impacts on their natural environment. The present study reports the results of molecular characterization of dark-colored laminae from the stalagmites Ilargi (Galería de las Estatuas) and GS1, GS2, and GS3 (Galería del Silo), by pyrolysis-GC-MS (Py-GC-MS) and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM-GC-MS). The features of the organic matter demonstrate the presence of (1) a dominant aliphatic fraction probably from in situ bacterial and ex situ plant-derived lipids, (2) black carbon (from soot and/or charcoal), (3) polysaccharides and N-rich moieties (probably from bat guano and microbial sources), and (4) a signal of terpenoid derivatives that may originate from the overlying limestone (kerogen) and extant gymnosperm resin (soils) or cyanobacteria (cave). Some plant-derived lignin may be present as well but was not identified unambiguously. It is concluded that this approach allows identifying multiple general sources of organic matter which can help understand speleothem formation processes, and evidence of soot deposition could be clearly linked to human activities.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.50.2.2382

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Kaal, J., Martínez-Pillado, V., Martínez Cortizas, A., Sanjurjo-Sánchez, J., Aranburu, A., Arsuaga, J.L., Iriarte, E., 2021. Bacteria, guano and soot: Source assessment of organic matter preserved in black laminae in stalagmites from caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca (N Spain). International Journal of Speleology, 50(2), 121-135. https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.50.2.2382