Abundance or stress? Faunal exploitation patterns and subsistence strategies: The case study of Brush Hut 1 at Ohalo II, a submerged 23,000-year-old camp in the Sea of Galilee, Israel (original) (raw)
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Recent studies have shown that the use of aquatic resources has greater antiquity in hominin diets than previously thought. At present, it is unclear when hominins started to habitually consume marine resources. This study examines shellfish exploitation from a behavioural ecology perspective, addressing how and when past hunter-gatherers from the Levant used coastal resources for subsistence purposes. We investigate the seasonality of shellfish exploitation in the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic through oxygen isotope analysis on shells of the intertidal rocky shore mollusc Phorcus (Osilinus) turbinatus from the key site Ksâr 'Akil (Lebanon). At this rockshelter, multi-layered archaeological deposits contained remains of both marine and terrestrial molluscs in relatively large quantities, which were consumed and used as tools and ornaments by the occupants of the site. Our results indicate that at the start of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP), there is no evidence for shellfish consumption. Humans started to take fresh shellfish to the rockshelter from the second half of the IUP onward, albeit in low quantities. During the Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) shellfish exploitation became increasingly frequent. Oxygen isotope data show that shellfish exploitation was practised in every season throughout most of the Upper Palaeolithic (UP), with an emphasis on the colder months. This suggests that coastal resources had a central role in early UP foraging strategies, rather than a seasonally restricted supplementary one. Year-round shellfish gathering, in turn, suggests that humans occupied the rockshelter at different times of the year, although not necessarily continuously. Our oxygen isotope data is complemented with broader-scale exploitation patterns of faunal resources, both vertebrate and invertebrate, at the site. The inclusion of coastal marine resources signifies a diversification of the human diet from the EUP onward, which is also observed in foraging practices linked to the exploitation of terrestrial fauna.
Inter-and intra-site variability in faunal assemblages from Epipalaeolithic sites in the southern Levant are investigated to identify broad patterns of human hunting efficiency and specific human activities at individual sites. The examination of eleven assemblages from the Mediterranean phytogeographic zone of Israel indicates a decline in human hunting efficiency across the Epipalaeolithic period. This decline is part of an intensified hunting strategy driven by human-induced resource depression of high-ranked large game taxa (ungulates). More detailed analyses at the site level indicate distinct variation in the use of fauna within individual archaeological sites.
This study presents distinct and small task-specific sites associated with the Middle to Late Epi-palaeolithic period exposed during a salvage project at the site of Ashalim at the fringe of the northwestern Negev desert dunefield (Israel). Six areas spanning the Geometric-Kebaran to Harifian periods were systematically collected upon a unique 4 m high and 100 m wide linear dune-like morphology. This morphology was a vegetated linear dune that blocked the underlying drainage system and led to the development of standing bodies of water which, together with the exposed wet bottom provided fauna and flora resources during the winter and spring. The relatively large number of sickle blades and lunates uncovered during the excavations suggest cereal consumption combined with hunting activities. Ten optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurements conducted for the dune-like morphology indicate that the occupations of the site postdate ~15.5 ± 3.1 ka BP, while bodies of water were present intermittently until at least ~11 ka BP, possibly even after the Harifian occupation. Two radiocarbon dates, taken from ostrich eggshell fragments that were found upon the flat surface of the dune-like morphology, further support this time range. The current study demonstrates how aeolian-fluvial interactions , and not necessarily a wetter climate, are important for forming conditions conducive for occupation by prehistoric groups in arid zones.
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Recent excavations at Qumran cave 24, near the Dead Sea, revealed a long stratigraphic sequence spanning from the Late Natufian/PPNA to the Chalcholitic. The presence of archaeologically sterile layers at different levels along sequence suggests that human occupation was not continuous and the general scarcity of artifacts indicates that occupation was always temporary. Archaeological materials include flint and ground stone artifacts, pottery and bone tools, and these were recovered together with an abundant faunal assemblage of over 7800 fragments, mainly coming from the PPNB levels. In general Gazella gazella and Capra ibex are the most frequent species, while Bos primigenius and Sus scrofa are much less abundant. Domestic caprines start to appear in the PPNB, but wild animals always outnumber domestic ones until the Chalcholithic when the proportions are inverted. Human modifications show mainly the exploitation of ungulates, but occasionally also of some small species such as the wild cat and more rarely the fox. The presence of this latter species, the most common carnivore, is instead more often associated with natural accumulation rather than human hunting. Although this site represents only an ephemeral seasonal camp, the investigations carried out may be relevant to improve our knowledge on patterns of land use and mobility in the different time periods.
Three decades of archaeological investigation in the upper and lower horizons of the Early Epipaleolithic occupation at the site of Tor at-Tareeq (WHS1065) in the western highlands of Jordan have suggested that occupation intensity co-varied with climatic shifts at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. The faunal record is a sensitive indicator of site occupation intensity, and allows us to further investigate diachronic change in human settlement at the site. Overall, preservation is of special concern, as it appears to have differentially impacted the faunal assemblages and may have influenced behavioral interpretations. Therefore, we apply a taphonomic analysis to the faunal assemblage from the 2012 excavation to investigate the nature and causes of the destruction of bones in each horizon. Our approach reveals differential destruction of the two faunal assemblages, although these did not impact the broad behavioral signatures from each horizon. Finally, we apply the prey choice model of behavioral ecology to test hypotheses for changing occupation intensity throughout the Early Epipaleolithic occupation. The study reveals an efficient subsistence strategy targeting higher-ranked adult ungulates and slow-moving tortoises, and attests to a stable low-intensity occupation across the two horizons.
Recent studies have shown that the use of aquatic resources has greater antiquity in hominin diets than previously thought. At present, it is unclear when hominins started to habitually consume marine resources. This study examines shellfish exploitation from a behavioural ecology perspective, addressing how and when past hunter-gatherers from the Levant used coastal resources for subsistence purposes. We investigate the seasonality of shellfish exploitation in the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic through oxygen isotope analysis on shells of the intertidal rocky shore mollusc Phorcus (Osilinus) turbinatus from the key site Ksâr 'Akil (Lebanon). At this rockshelter, multi-layered archaeological deposits contained remains of both marine and terrestrial molluscs in relatively large quantities, which were consumed and used as tools and ornaments by the occupants of the site. Our results indicate that at the start of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP), there is no evidence for shellfish consumption. Humans started to take fresh shellfish to the rockshelter from the second half of the IUP onward, albeit in low quantities. During the Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) shellfish exploitation became increasingly frequent. Oxygen isotope data show that shellfish exploitation was practised in every season throughout most of the Upper Palaeolithic (UP), with an emphasis on the colder months. This suggests that coastal resources had a central role in early UP foraging strategies, rather than a seasonally restricted supplementary one. Year-round shellfish gathering, in turn, suggests that humans occupied the rockshelter at different times of the year, although not necessarily continuously. Our oxygen isotope data is complemented with broader-scale exploitation patterns of faunal resources, both vertebrate and invertebrate, at the site. The inclusion of coastal marine resources signifies a diversification of the human diet from the EUP onward, which is also observed in foraging practices linked to the exploitation of terrestrial fauna.
Occupying Wide Open Spaces? Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherer Activities in the Eastern Levant
With a specific focus on eastern Jordan, the Epipalaeolithic Foragers in Azraq Project explores changing hunteregatherer strategies, behaviours and adaptations to this vast area throughout the Late Pleistocene. In particular, we examine how lifeways here (may have) differed from surrounding areas and what circumstances drew human and animal populations to the region. Integrating multiple material cultural and environmental datasets, we explore some of the strategies of these eastern Jordanian groups that resulted in changes in settlement, subsistence and interaction and, in some areas, the occupation of substantial aggregation sites. Five years of excavation at the aggregation site of Kharaneh IV suggest some very intriguing technological and social on-site activities, as well as adaptations to a dynamic landscape unlike that of today. Here we discuss particular aspects of the Kharaneh IV material record within the context of ongoing palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and place these findings in the wider spatial and temporal narratives of the Azraq Basin.