blubber lamps

Illuminating the Late Mesolithic:residue analysis of ‘blubber’ lamps fromNorthern EuropeCarl Heron1, Søren Andersen2, Anders Fischer3, Aikaterini Glykou4,Sonke Hartz5, Hayley Saul6, Val Steele1 & Oliver Craig6

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Shallow oval bowls used on the Baltic coastin the Mesolithic have been suggested as oillamps, burning animal fat. Here researchersconfirm the use of four coastal examples aslamps burning blubber—the fat of marineanimals, while an inland example burnedfat from terrestrial mammals or freshwateraquatics—perhaps eels. The authors use acombination of lipid biomarker and bulkand single-compound carbon isotope analysisto indicate the origin of the residues in thesevessels.

Keywords: Baltic, Mesolithic–Neolithic, Ertebølle, pottery, ‘blubber lamps’, lipid analysis,marine oils

Supplementary material OLS1–3 and Tables S1–4 are available online atwww.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/heron335

1 Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK2 Moesgard Museum, Moesgard Alle 20, DK-8270 Højbjerg, Denmark3 The Danish Agency for Culture, H.C. Andersens Boulevard 2, DK-1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark4 Graduate School ‘Human Development in Landscapes’, Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology,

Christian-Albrechts-Universitat, 24098 Kiel, Germany5 Archaologisches Landesmuseum, Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen, Schloβ Gottorf, D-24837

Schleswig, Germany6 BioArCh, Biology, S Block, University of York, PO Box 373, York YO10 5YW, UK

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IntroductionPottery is traditionally associated with sedentary farming communities that appear across theglobe in the wake of the introduction of agriculture. However, in Eurasia, Africa and NorthAmerica it is now clear that pottery pre-dates agriculture, sometimes by several millennia(Barnett & Hoopes 1995; Jordan & Zvelebil 2009). Identifying the needs that hunter-gatherers and farmers had for pottery containers is challenging. A variety of forms and stylesis encountered and pottery vessels operated in social, as well as technological and functionaldomains. In Europe, clear cases of forager pottery manufacture and use are known in thecircum-Baltic region. Whilst large cooking pots were used by late foragers and early farmersin this region, one form of vessel is particularly notable by its presence on late forager sitesand its absence on all except perhaps the very earliest farming sites: the oval ceramic bowl(Andersen 2010).

This type of pottery is found in the Mesolithic ‘Ertebølle culture’ of Denmark andnorthern Germany from around 5000 cal BC. In a paper entitled ‘Blubber lamps in theErtebølle culture?’ Mathiassen (1935) described a number of oval bowls from Danish sitesdrawing on the analogy of soapstone or ceramic lamps among the Inuit in the Arctic.Describing the interior surface of one Ertebølle bowl as having a “greasy look”, Mathiassenconcluded that “its appearance is exactly like that of ancient Eskimo blubber lamps ofsoapstone” (1935: 145) and he suggested that oil from seal or whale was the most likely fuel.Lamps thought to have been used for lighting and fuelled using deer fat were also observedat inland locations particularly among the ‘Caribou Eskimo’ to the west of the Hudson Bay(Birket-Smith & Calvert 1929).

Although other uses have been suggested (e.g. Hulthen 1977) these distinctive vesselshave become known as ‘blubber lamps’. The vessels have either rounded or pointed endsand display a great variation in size. The rims are simply rounded by smoothing althoughsome vessels are decorated with fingernail impressions (Andersen 2009, 2010). Experimentsconducted by van Diest (1981) using reconstructed vessels lend support to Mathiassen’sanalogy. Using seal blubber for fuel and a moss wick, one lamp burned for 5.5 hours, whilea lamp filled with tallow burned for 4.75 hours. When the vessels were used as lamps,van Diest noted patterns of sooting and burnt deposits consistent with those observed onErtebølle bowls.

Lipid analysisThe potential of lipid analysis to characterise ‘organic residues’ and provide assessments offood and non-food products in pottery vessels has emerged as a powerful tool in recent years(see Evershed 2008 for a review). Lipid analysis has been applied to putative lamps fromdiverse archaeological contexts. Analysis of stone ‘lamps’ from Upper Palaeolithic cave sites inFrance (De Beaune 1987: 170), many of which retain evidence of burning, recovered “fattyacids of animal origin (composition similar to that of Suidae or Bovidae)”. Other notableapplications include the detection of both animal fats and plant oils used to fuel lamps(dated to AD 600–1500) from Qasr Ibrim, Egypt (Copley et al. 2005); Brassicaceae seedoils in lamps from Antinoe, Egypt, dating to the fifth to seventh centuries AD (Colombini

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et al. 2005); the presence of beeswax in Minoan conical cups thought to have been usedas lamps (Evershed et al. 1997); possible olive oil in Roman to early Byzantine ceramiclamps from Sagalassos, south-west Turkey (Kimpe et al. 2001); bovine/ovine adipose fats inceramic lamps from Olbia, Ukraine, dating from the fifth century BC to the fourth centuryAD (Garnier et al. 2009); and ruminant adipose fats in medieval lamps from Leicester, UK(Mottram et al. 1999). Recent investigation of the small ‘cups’ fashioned from chalk andrecovered from excavations at the Late Neolithic/Bronze Age flint mine at Grimes Graves,UK, failed to recover lipid residues and could not confirm whether these vessels had servedas lamps (Tanimoto et al. 2011). Of relevance to the present study is the detection of marinemammal oil in soapstone lamps collected from a coastal Inuit community dating to c. AD1750 (Solazzo & Erhardt 2007).

Ethnographic analogy and experimental archaeology aside, there is no direct evidencethat ‘blubber lamps’ were used for burning marine oils. In an appendix to Mathiassen’s1935 paper, Biilmann and Jensen report on the analysis of solvent extracts of 20g of crushedceramic from a lamp from the inland site of Godsted Bog, Denmark. Although lipids weredetected, with mid-chain fatty acids predominating, the results gave “no basis for positiveconclusions” thought to be the result of “transformations in the course of time” (1935:152). Murawski, in van Diest (1981), analysed lipids from a lamp from the Mesolithic–Neolithic coastal site of Rosenhof in northern Germany using gas chromatography-massspectrometry (GC-MS). The increased sensitivity of the technique demonstrated thepresence of unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1 and C20:1) although these data are insufficientto confirm an aquatic source for the lipid. The identification of aquatic products in potteryis not straightforward. In the past their presence was suggested on the basis of the presenceof long-chain (>C18:1) unsaturated fatty acids although other archaeological evidence wasalso deployed (Morgan et al. 1984, 1992; Patrick et al. 1985). Since then, developmentsin analysis have enabled the recognition of lipid biomarkers, such as isoprenoid fatty acids,present in very low abundance in original tissues as well as degradation products of fattyacids including those deriving from aquatic organisms (e.g. Copley et al. 2004; Hanselet al. 2004; Evershed 2008; Olsson & Isaksson 2008; Hansel & Evershed 2009; Heron et al.2010; Hansel et al. 2011). In addition, determination of the carbon isotope ratios of fattyacids has enhanced interpretative possibilities, including differentiation between marine andfreshwater resources (Craig et al. 2007, 2011).

As part of a wider investigation into pottery use among late foragers and early farmers inthe Baltic region, we conducted lipid biomarker, bulk and single-compound isotope analysison seven ‘blubber lamps’ from Denmark and Germany. Given the ethnographic evidence,vessels from coastal locations might be expected to retain evidence of marine oil whereasthose from inland locations could, in principle, contain any fat or oil capable of burningwith a wick. Specifically we aim to confirm whether the analytical data are consistent withthe use of these vessels as lamps.

ProcedureThe samples were collected from wetland sites and cultural layers in submerged marinelocations. The generally oxygen-free sediments of such sites are known to have favourableC© Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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conditions for the preservation of organic materials. In this study, samples were collectedfrom four sites and included vessels and vessel fragments with and without surface deposits.Four samples were examined from Neustadt, and one each from Teglgaard Helligkilde,Tybrind Vig and Akonge. A ‘blubber lamp’ from Neustadt is illustrated in Figure 1, and amap of the site locations is given in Figure 2. Further information on the sites and contexts isavailable in the online supplement (Table S1). For details of samples and sample preparation,see OLS1–2.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify the biomarkers. Bulk carbonand nitrogen isotope analysis was undertaken on visible surface deposits scraped from thesurface of the vessels where present. Gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio massspectrometry was also undertaken. The results were compared with those obtained fromlocal taxa (Craig et al. 2011). Marine fish (flounder, cod, eelpout and marine-residence eel)and mammal (seal) were obtained from Danish coastal waters. The modern freshwater fishwere caught in Lake Tissø (West Zealand, Denmark) and comprise pike, eel and tench.The terrestrial samples, reproduced from Dudd and Evershed (1998), are augmented withwild boar and cows’ milk from northern Germany. These data were plotted with 95%confidence elipses (Systat; version 13).

ResultsGas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that there was good preservation of long-chain mono-unsaturated fatty acids in many of the samples. All but three show preservationof fatty acids of chain length > C18:1. In several cases carbon chains up to C24:1 and C26:1 arepresent. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18:2 and C20:2) are also preserved in several samples.Long-chain unsaturated fatty acids (> C18:1) are commonly concentrated in the tissues ofaquatic animals. The presence of the isoprenoid fatty acids 4,8,12-trimethyltridecanoic acid(4,8,12-TMTD) and 3,7,11,25-tetramethylhexadecanoic acid (phytanic acid) is consistentwith aquatic resources.

Experimental investigations have resulted in criteria that should be met in order toconfirm the presence of aquatic lipids in pottery vessels, namely the presence of ω-(o-alkylphenyl)alkanoic acids of carbon length C18, C20 and C22 together with at least one ofthree isoprenoid fatty acids (Evershed et al. 2008). Only one vessel meets these criteria—both the absorbed lipid extracted from the sherd and lipid from the surface deposit fromthe Teglgaard-Helligkilde ‘lamp’ (Figure 3). Lipid biomarker data in the majority of theremaining samples, although not meeting the experimental criteria, provide some indicationsof aquatic resources (see OLS3, Table S2).

The bulk isotope measurements obtained on the visible surface deposits are shown inTable S3. The low levels of nitrogen (%N) indicate that the majority of nitrogen isotopevalues may be unreliable. Charred surface deposits may contain carbon and nitrogen fromdifferent types of biomolecules, which will vary considerably in their isotopic values. Inaddition these deposits may not be homogeneous and have been subject to degradation,thermal alteration and contamination during use, discard and burial (Craig et al. 2007).

The bulk carbon isotope values are plotted in Figure 4 alongside values previously obtainedon charred surface deposits recovered from putative cooking pots: 17 pointed-base vessels


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Figure 1. Reconstructed ‘blubber lamp’ (vessel 25) from Neustadt. The vessel is undecorated (length 310mm, width 100mm).The vessel was made by coiling and the surfaces are smoothed (thickness: 6mm, rim; 16mm, base). This is among the largestof the vessels of this type. It was not sampled as part of this work due to its good preservation. A) After Glykou 2011; B)courtesy of the Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen, Schloβ Gottorf.


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from Neustadt and 13 funnel beakers from Akonge. The foodstuffs in these cooking potsare likely to have included marine, terrestrial and freshwater foods (Craig et al. 2011).

Figure 2. Map showing the location of sites from where the‘lamp’ samples were obtained.

Higher bulk δ13C values suggest a marinecontribution to the residues. The twohighest (i.e. most 13C-enriched) samplesare N1009 from Neustadt and the ‘lamp’from Teglgaard-Helligkilde. The remainingtwo ‘lamps’ from Neustadt have δ13Cvalues that correspond to the more 13C-enriched surface deposits from the pointed-base vessels. In contrast the Akonge ‘lamp’has the lowest δ13C value of all samplesat −32.5‰. Such a value makes a marinecontribution to this vessel highly unlikely.

There is a significant difference(heteroscedastic two-tailed t-test gives0.05 > p > 0.02) between the atomic C/Nratios in samples from pointed-base vesselsand ‘lamps’. The mean C/N ratio from thepointed-base vessels is 10.2+−2.4 whereasthe mean ratio from the oval vesselsfrom Neustadt and Teglgaard-Helligkildeis 23.4+−8.1 (no nitrogen determinationwas carried out on the surface depositfrom the Akonge ‘lamp’). The higher C/Nratios indicate a higher lipid fraction inthe ‘lamps’ and this is consistent with theburning of a rendered oil or fat, whereasthe pointed-base vessels have lower C/N ra-tios; possibly a composite value that is likelyto reflect the contribution of isotopically-heavier components such as proteins andcarbohydrates to the surface deposits.

To explore further the origin of the lipid residues, single-compound isotope analysis wasundertaken using gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) on all extracts, apart from the vessel from Tybrind Vig as the yield of lipid wastoo low. Figure 5 plots the single-compound carbon isotope values for the C16:0 and C18:0

fatty acids from the ‘lamps’ (Table S4) against the modern fats plotted with 95% confidenceintervals. Data from surface deposits where sufficient fatty acids could be recovered andmeasured are distinguished from lipid extracts of powdered ceramic samples. The resultsseparate marine lipids from a diverse range of terrestrial resources and from 13C depletedvalues obtained on modern freshwater fish.

Together with the lipid compositional information the single-compound isotope dataprovide compelling evidence for the use of marine oils in the four vessels from the coastal site


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Figure 3. (For details see OLS3 and Table S2). GC-MS data of the extract of the Teglgaard-Helligkilde ‘lamp’: a) partialtotal ion current (TIC) chromatogram of the trimethylsilylated extract showing the major lipid molecules present. Peakidentities: Cn:x – fatty acid with n carbon atoms and x double bonds; TMTD – 4,8,12-trimethyltridecanoic acid; b)partial TIC chromatogram of the trimethylsilylated extract showing the presence of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids. Peakidentities as in Figure 3a; c) partial TIC chromatogram of the trimethylsilylated extract showing the presence of cholesteroland cholesterol oxidation products; d) partial single ion chromatogram for m/z 109 of a methylated extract showing thepresence of ω-(o-alkylphenyl)alkanoic acids. Peak identities: C16; � C18; ∗ C20; C22.

of Neustadt and the single find from Teglgaard-Helligkilde. The most likely interpretationis that these vessels were used as lamps for light and/or heat. It is not possible to confirm thespecific source of the marine product used but the preponderance of seal bone at Neustadtsuggests that this is a likely source at least at this site.

The Akonge ‘lamp’

The Akonge ‘lamp’, from an inland site, has indications of aquatic lipid (Table S2). Thesingle-compound isotope values plot at the boundary between ruminant adipose andruminant dairy (Figure 5). However, modern freshwater fish from Northern Europe,including freshwater eel, show a wide range of values, some of which overlap with therange for ruminant adipose. Phytanic acid is found in low quantities in ruminant adiposeand dairy formed through the metabolism of phytol following release from chlorophyll(Hellgren 2010). This molecule is also found in freshwater fish tissues (Ackman & Hooper1970). On the basis of the current data it is not possible to distinguish conclusively whethera terrestrial animal fat or a freshwater fish oil was used as the fuel in this vessel or indeedwhether a mixture of lipids from different biological sources is represented. However as thesurface deposit is so depleted in 13C compared with the round-bellied cooking vessels foundC© Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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at the site, a freshwater oil rather than terrestrial animal fat would appear to be more likely.In addition, Fischer and Heinemeier (2003) note that the AMS date of this deposit may

Figure 4. Mean and standard deviation of bulk carbonisotope measurements obtained on surface deposits comparingthe five samples taken from ‘blubber lamps’ with thosefrom 17 pointed-base Ertebølle vessels from Neustadt and13 funnel beakers (TRB) from Akonge. Solid square:Teglgaard Helligkilde ‘lamp’; solid circle: Neustadt ‘lamps’;solid triangle: Akonge ‘lamp’.

have been influenced by a reservoir effectdue to the incorporation of carbon froma freshwater source. Possible candidates forthe source of an oily freshwater fish includeeel, although eel bone is a small componentof the faunal assemblages so far reportedfrom Akonge and other contemporary sitesin the Amose. This may, however, changesince the currently available faunal list fromAkonge is based on sieving using 4 × 4mmmesh.

DiscussionThe analyses confirm that the Ertebølleoval dishes were used for heating oils andfats. Similar vessels have been reportedin earlier forager contexts from otherparts of Northern and Eastern Europe.Berzins (2008) has reviewed the evidencefor oval bowls by late foragers in theeastern Baltic suggesting that the use-alteration features strongly suggest theiruse as lamps. Nevertheless Berzins notesthat it is not altogether clear whether theselamps should be seen as providing general-purpose lighting, or whether they playeda more specific role, such as providingartificial light for catching eels at night aspreviously suggested by Hulthen (1977). Ifthe Ertebølle lamps had a role in luring

fish they may be related to the fires made on dugout canoes from this period (Andersen1987).

Intriguingly, few securely-dated examples of ceramic lamps in the form of oval bowlshave been recovered from the western Baltic that are dated after 4000 BC when funnelbeaker (Trichterbecker or TRB) pottery replaces Ertebølle vessels. However, the replacingof pointed-base vessels and oval bowls by funnel beakers, traditionally associated with theEarly Neolithic and an economy centred on food production, may not be as simple asthe traditional view suggests. Lamps are found at the site of Akonge in contexts withdomesticated animal bone (Fischer 2002; Fischer & Gotfredsen 2006). At Siggeneben-Sudin northern Germany it has been suggested that oval bowls were also part of the earlyfunnel beaker assemblage (Meurers-Balke 1983: fig. 22.7c). Based on our analysis of the


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Akonge ‘lamp’, we also suggest a continuation in the use of these vessels as lamps, withfreshwater fish oil as a possible candidate for the fuel at inland locations. Analysis of early

Figure 5. Plot of the stable carbon isotope values for C16:0

and C18:0 fatty acids from the five vessels. Solid square:Teglgaard Helligkilde ‘lamp’; solid circle: Neustadt ‘lamps’;solid triangle: Akonge ‘lamp’. Analysis of interior surfacedeposits (f ) and absorbed residues (i) are distinguished. Thedata are plotted against ranges (95% confidence) for modernreference fats (based on data in Dudd & Evershed 1998 andCraig et al. 2011). Freshwater fish are represented by smallopen circles.

Neolithic funnel beakers demonstratestheir continued use for processing aquaticresources (Craig et al. 2011). It is becomingincreasingly clear that specific aspects offorager material cultures were directlyincorporated, both in terms of productionand use, into Neolithic social ‘practices’.

The degree to which the use ofother Neolithic ceramics was derivedfrom Late Mesolithic forager traditionsremains to be demonstrated. Differentforms of material culture may havereplaced the ceramic lamp, or the specificrequirements or contexts for illuminationchanged. For example, the small ceramicvessels, often found in funnel beakerassemblages and typically called ‘cups’,but interpreted by some as being usedas lamps (Troels-Smith 1982: 58, fig. 6;Nielsen 1985: fig. 13, no. 5), would beinteresting candidates for future analysis.

ConclusionThe present study demonstrates the potential for studies of prehistoric pottery usebased on lipid analysis of samples collected at sites in wetlands and marine contexts.Robust discrimination of marine and freshwater resources associated with prehistoricpottery can be achieved through a combination of single compound isotope analysisand lipid biomarker analysis. Using this approach, we have previously shown thatNorthern European hunter-gatherer pottery had a range of uses, which include culinarypractices (Craig et al. 2011). Here we present an initial study on the characteristicErtebølle oval bowls that—based on ethnographic analogy—have traditionally beentermed ‘blubber lamps’. Our analyses confirm their use as lamps, possibly for illumination.Those at coastal sites were fuelled by marine oils. We also present an example of alamp from an inland site where a non-marine, possibly freshwater fish lipid, was used asfuel.

AcknowledgementsThis research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (award AH/E008232/1). We thankAndy Gledhill (University of Bradford) for assistance with the bulk isotope measurements and Paul Donohueand Martin Jones (University of Newcastle) for undertaking the single-compound analyses. Frederick Feulneris thanked for translating van Diest (1981). Thanks also to Valdis Berzins for his comments on an earlierdraft.C© Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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Received: 3 January 2012; Accepted: 19 March 2012; Revised: 28 June 2012


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