Gazelle bone fat processing in the Levantine Epipalaeolithic

We investigate mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) carcass processing to reconstruct resource intensification strategies during the Epipalaeolithic period of northern Israel. We adopt a multivariate taphonomic approach to identify the processes that most influenced bone survivorship in five gazelle assemblages. All of the assemblages are characterized by significant density-mediated biases, yet in situ attrition played a minimal role in assemblage formation. In contrast, the survivorship of hare (Lepus capensis) skeletons is not mediated by bone density indicating that different prey taxa experienced independent taphonomic histories. Both gazelle cortical and cancellous bone is highly fragmented and the degree of fragmentation and survivorship are strongly correlated with fat yields. Results of multiple tests point to intensive marrow and grease extraction as the primary determinant of gazelle bone survivorship. Although gazelle carcasses were intensively utilized throughout the Epipalaeolithic, the intensity of use is stable across the duration of the period.     

Gazelle bone marrow yields and Epipalaeolithic carcass exploitation strategies in the southern Levant

We measure the bone marrow yields of mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) carcasses to reconstruct gazelle exploitation strategies during the Epipalaeolithic periods in the southern Levant. We present experimentally derived data on the bone marrow content of seven fresh gazelle carcasses, determine the range of marrow yields among individuals of different sexes and seasons of death, and compare the new data to gazelle skeletal element abundances from five Epipalaeolithic assemblages from Israel. We found extensive variation in marrow fat content among individual gazelles. Animals with the highest marrow yields were killed in the spring while animals killed in the early autumn had lower fat contents. Nevertheless, our results suggest that gazelle marrow provided a reliable, albeit small fat resource for prehistoric foragers in all seasons. Strong relationships between bone fragmentation and marrow content demonstrate that Epipalaeolithic people preferentially processed bones with high marrow yields.     

Gazelle exploitation in the early Neolithic site of Motza,Israel: the last of the gazelle hunters in the southern Levant

We studied the faunal remains from the Early and Middle PPNB site of Motza, Judean Mts., Israel, in order to gain insight into the economic basis prior to livestock husbandry, with a focus on gazelle hunting. Taphonomic analysis showed that bone preservation at the site was excellent. The subsistence economy in Motza was based on a broad spectrum of hunted species, with mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) as the dominant prey, similar to many Epipalaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in the southern Levant. We studied gazelle exploitation patterns, in order to learn about the interaction of humans with this species prior to ungulate domestication. Analysis of the demography of the gazelle herd, which included aging and sexing, revealed no age preferences and no selective culling. Moreover, the PPNB gazelle population of Motza does not exhibit allometric changes in morphology, that are allegedly correlated to increased hunting pressure on gazelle populations prior to livestock domestication.     

“After 20 Years”: A Taphonomic Re-evaluation of Nahal Hadera V,an Epipalaeolithic Site on the Israeli Coastal Plain

We carried out a detailed taphonomic study of the faunal remains from Nahal Hadera V (NHV), a large Kebaran open-air site on the northern coastal plain, Israel. Faunal remains were previously identified to bone element and species (Saxon, Martin & Bar-Yosef, 1978). However, NISP and MNI values were calculated based on teeth and epiphyses only. In this study we identified the maximum number of skeletal elements, including head fragments, vertebrae, ribs, carpals/tarsals, and shaft fragments. Further analyses included search for various bone surface modifications and the study of mode of bone fragmentation. We found minor loss of bones caused by various diagenetic processes, and no signs of carnivore activity. These results suggest that most of the bone destruction was caused during time of occupation, probably for marrow consumption, as indicated by mode of bone fragmentation. Absence of selective transport for gazelle (Gazella gazella) and fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica), the major prey species (with 70% and 20%, respectively), is supported by homogeneous representation of head-limb-toe elements. However, the carcasses may have been processed before transport to the site. Thus, a taphonomic analysis from NHV helps to illuminate the economy of NHV inhabitants and fine-tunes our understanding of the depositional history of the site. However, it does not overthrow results of earlier research using classical methods.     

Ochre,Ground Stone,and Wrapping the Dead in the Late Epipalaeolithic (Natufian) Levant: Revealing the Funerary Practices at Shubayqa 1, Jordan

The appearance of rich and diverse funerary practices is one of the hallmarks of the Late Epipalaeolithic Natufian in the Levant. Numerous burials at a number of sites excavated mostly in the Mediterranean zone of the southern Levant have fed into the interpretation of the Natufian as a sedentary society of complex hunter-gatherers. Here, we report on the human remains recovered from Shubayqa 1, a well-dated early to late Natufian site in northeast Jordan. The majority of the minimum of 23 individuals that are represented are perinates and infants, which represents an atypical population profile. Ground stone artifacts and traces of colorants are associated with some of these individuals, providing a rare insight into funerary treatment of subadults in Natufian contexts. We interpret the Shubayqa 1 evidence in the light of current and ongoing debates concerning Natufian burial practices and the issue of social complexity.     

Jerusalem

Abstract

The limited excavations at Saflulim demonstrate that, together with Rosh Horesha, it functioned as some form of Negev Late Natufian residential basecamp or, more plausibly, aggregation site, with substantial and durable architectural features present. Together they represent a single site complex forming, by far, the largest Natufian (and indeed Epipalaeolithic) site documented in the Negev to date. Without doubt this is in large measure accounted for by the particular phytogeographic location of the site in the highest reaches of the central Negev Highlands during a period when environmental conditions were more favourable and a wider array of vegetal resources were available than at present.

The recovered assemblages increase the data base for ongoing technological, typological, stylistic and functional comparative studies of the Late Natufian in the Negev. In particular they should provide some indications as to the degree of variability between different types of site in the various phytogeographic zones within the region. Though not entirely conclusive, the newly acquired data appear to bolster the likelihood that previously reported assemblages from the adjacent site of Rosh Horesha are at least partially mixed.     

Micromammal taphonomy of el-Wad Terrace,Mount Carmel,Israel: distinguishing cultural from natural depositional agents in the Late Natufian

A taphonomic analysis of micromammal remains from the Late Natufian deposits of el-Wad Terrace, Mount Carmel, Israel, was conducted in order to test the long-standing premise of owl deposition as the primary accumulating agent. The inferred taphonomic sequence was modeled within an actualistic (recent) comparative framework incorporating a locally derived barn owl pellet collection and an off-site control assemblage of micromammal remains from the cliff overhanging the terrace. The sequence was reconstructed based on multiple types of recorded taphonomic data, comprising skeletal modifications (breakage, digestion, weathering, gnawing, and charring) and age structure. Evidence for post-depositional processes including fluvial transport, trampling, and weathering was isolated and consequently the typical owl imprints were traced through the two actualistic and the archaeological assemblages. Based on the extent of breakage and patterning in skeletal element frequencies it was also possible to scale the preservation potential of primary data in el-Wad Terrace as a discrete site type, intermediate between true cave and open-air depositional environments. Verifying the role of owls as principal agents of accumulation of the el-Wad Terrace micromammal remains enabled the detection of two minor superimposed cultural patterns: consumption of mole rats (Spalax sp.) by the Natufians and commensalism of mice (Mus spp.).     

Material Movement in the Near Eastern Epipalaeolithic: Implications of the Shell and Stone Beads of Direkli Cave,Turkey

Direkli Cave is an Epipalaeolithic site in the central Taurus mountain range in southeastern Turkey that was used by mobile hunter-gatherer communities. The assemblage of beads from the cave, made primarily from shell (marine and freshwater) and stone, shows new evidence both that bead materials were brought to the site from the shores of the Mediterranean and that the material culture of the site has relationships to the Levant, northern Mesopotamia, and inner Anatolia. This article questions how such a bead assemblage should be interpreted in the light of existing evidence for the Near Eastern and Anatolian Epipalaeolithic and what it adds to our understanding of the better known contemporary Natufian culture of the Levant. It considers the long-distance movement of materials, interregional material cultural influences, and the way the Epipalaeolithic period is conceptualized more broadly.     

The excavation of hayonim terrace: an examination of terminal pleistocene climatic and adaptive changes

The investigation of the epipalaeolithic site of Hayonim Terrace contributes new evidence relative to our understanding of the series of adaptive changes which took place among populations of Palestine during the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene. The study defines a cultural continuity between the Geometric Kebaran A and Natufian archaeological complexes against a changing environmental background. A succession of environmental oscillations which occurred between c. 12,500 and 10,000 BP is identified and discussed in regard to changes in epipalaeolithic economic and adaptive patterns. An episode of climatic amelioration (c. 12,000-11,000 BP) apparently contributed to the expansion of cereals into the Mediterranean hill zone and the abandonment of palaeolithic hunting and gathering strategy by Natufian cereal collectors. Subsequent environmental deterioration associated with the onset of drier conditions (c. 11,000 BP) prompted Natufian populations to attempt to maintain their habitable territory artificially, through the cultivation of cereals.     

The social role of food in the Natufian cemetery of Raqefet Cave,Mount Carmel,Israel

The archaeology of mortuary practices and related foodways in the Late Natufian (LN; ca. 14,000/13,500–11,700 BP) sheds light on the communal activities of the last hunter–gatherers in the Mediterranean Levant. We present a detailed analysis of the fauna from the LN cemetery of Raqefet Cave (Mount Carmel, Israel). Taphonomic evidence indicates that the animal bones are butchery and consumption leftovers. While the patterns of animal exploitation are reminiscent of Natufian habitation sites, the remains do not reflect the typical recurring post-discard damage resulting from continuous or repeating habitations in those sites. Hence the fauna is interpreted as the leftovers of punctuated, short-term events, rather than ‘ordinary’ Natufian household trash. Taking into account the special depositional context and site characteristics, we interpret the fauna as the intentionally-gathered and buried remains of simple funerary feasts. Elaborate mortuary behavior and symbolic role of food refuse were recently suggested at the contemporaneous cave of Hilazon Tachtit (Israel). The new data from Raqefet Cave probably reflect a somewhat different type of communal meals, adding to the diversity and complexity of pre-agricultural life-ways in the Levant.     

A zoomorphic sickle terminal from the Natufian site of Wadi Hammeh 27 in Jordan

Excavations at the Natufian site of Wadi Hammeh 27 in Jordan undertaken in 2014 led to the discovery of several new portable art pieces, including the representation of an ungulate mammal (RN 140226), probably intended as a gazelle, carved in the round from bone. The small object was extensively damaged by fire and had become separated at its neck from longer pieces of fragmented, burnt bone lying distally to it. This configuration and the style of the animal head leads us to interpret the piece as the decorated terminal of a bone sickle haft. The piece is unusual in that is it is one of the few figurative Natufian art pieces with incised geometric decoration added to its surface. Its finding extends the distribution of the ‘gazelle-headed’ sickle haft from Mount Carmel, where three well-known examples were unearthed in the early twentieth century, to the northern Jordan Valley. The piece adds to the limited repertoire of zoomorphically rendered Natufian artefacts associated with plant gathering and processing.     

An exploration of character traits and linear measurements for sexing mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) skeletons

The skeletal elements of mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) have proven difficult to sex with statistical confidence due to wide overlap in the body size of the two sexes. We studied a sample of 53 modern mountain gazelle skeletons to determine which character traits and metric measurements best predict sex. The success of the character traits was determined using blind tests while the metrics were examined using discriminant function analysis. The most useful elements include the previously identified horn core, pubis and atlas, but also some new bone portions that preserve well in the archaeological record (e.g., distal tibia, distal metacarpal and metatarsal, and second phalanx). Surprisingly, two elements commonly used in sexing analyses (distal humerus and astragalus) were not among the most effective elements. Although cutting points and discriminant functions for sexing gazelle bone portions are presented here, they do not account for potential body size change and thus are not suited for direct application to archaeological assemblages. Instead, we provide guidelines for application to archaeological gazelle assemblages, most importantly a regression analysis that considers the sex ratios obtained from multiple measurements to predict the sex ratio of archaeological gazelle populations.     

The Seasonal Mobility of Prehistoric Gazelle Herds in the Azraq Basin,Jordan: Modelling Alternative Strategies Using Stable Isotopes

The hunting of Gazella subgutturosa was a dominant practice for Epipalaeolithic and early Neolithic hunter–gatherers in the east Jordan steppe. The seasonal mobility of this taxon in the Levant is poorly understood, especially for early prehistory when herd movements would have influenced hunter-gatherer use of the steppes. This paper proposes four patterns of seasonal herd mobility for G. subgutturosa centred on Jordan’s Azraq Basin. The four patterns are modelled using oxygen, carbon and strontium stable isotopes. Seasonal environmental signatures of each are understood through carbon and strontium isotopic variation in sixty modern plant specimens collected from twelve selected locations in north Jordan, published data on oxygen isotopes in local precipitation, and the adaptive behaviour of G. subgutturosa. The integrated isotopic datasets provide clear discriminatory markers for each proposed mobility pattern. Results will be applied in future to isotopic data from archaeological gazelle teeth from the Azraq Basin.     

“Measure for measure”: a taphonomic reconsideration of the Kebaran site of Ein Gev I,Israel

We present the results of a detailed taphonomic study of the faunal remains from Ein Gev I, a Kebaran open-air site near the Sea of Galilee, Israel. In an earlier study faunal remains were assigned to bone element and species using a rapid method technique based on the identification of teeth and epiphyses only (Davis, 1974). In this study we identified the maximum number of skeletal elements, including fragments of long bone shafts. We also employed a series of taphonomic analyses to reconstruct the depositional history of the bone assemblage and to investigate subsistence, meat procurement and bone processing strategies. We compared the results obtained by a complete bone sampling method with those derived using a rapid method. The bone assemblage is dominated by mountain gazelle (Gazella gazelle), Mesopotamian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) and bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus). The assemblage is characterized by significant density-mediated biases, caused by both human bone processing behaviours and in situ post-burial bone attrition. Our attempts to compare species abundance derived from the two different identification protocols revealed no significant difference between the two sampling methods, both in terms of species diversity (richness and evenness) and skeletal element abundance (SEA). These comparisons contrast previous studies that expected to find ubiquitous head-and-foot dominated SEA profiles in zooarchaeological studies that were based on the incomplete identification of faunal remains.     

To catch a chameleon,or actualism vs. natural history in the taphonomy of the microvertebrate fraction at Qesem Cave,Israel

Qesem Cave is a unique Middle Pleistocene, hominin-bearing site in Israel that contains a rich microvertebrate accumulation. The microvertebrates are highly unusual in that half of them are from small reptiles, and most of the reptiles are chameleons, which are otherwise rare in the fossil record. Analysis of the lower vertebrate component shows uniform taphonomic characteristics: on average 17.6% of specimens show evidence of corrosion (the vast majority light), and specimen breakage is between 4.9 and 12.0%, depending on metric. Charring is negligible. Most species are small (body mass <60 g). These taphonomic attributes do not vary in the studied portion of the stratigraphic profile, nor do they systematically vary between taxa. Thorough study of all skeletal parts suggests that most individuals probably entered the cave as whole animals; the only exception is the large glass lizard, Pseudopus, which is represented mostly by the tail. These taphonomic data suggest a Barn Owl as the predominant accumulator. However, natural history observations on Barn Owls and chameleons are strongly at odds with this actualistic inference: Barn Owls are nowhere recorded as a major predator on chameleons. We argue that a focus on extant, especially European, populations could distort our understanding of their feeding biology and is vulnerable to counterexample. We propose a scenario that harmonizes actualism and natural history. We further identify a possible owl roost in Qesem Cave, the first time such a roost has been identified in a collapsed cave setting. These conclusions may have conservation implications for chameleons. They also suggest that the hearth adjacent to the microvertebrate concentration was situated in the twilight zone.     

Technological Change and Economy in the Epipalaeolithic: Assessing the Shift from Early to Middle Epipalaeolithic at Kharaneh IV

Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherer communities in the Southern Levant exhibit numerous complex trends that suggest that the transition to the Neolithic was patchy and protracted. This paper explores the changing nature of occupation at the Epipalaeolithic site Kharaneh IV, Jordan, through an in-depth analysis of the lithic and faunal assemblages. Focusing on the analysis of a single deep sounding (unit AS42), we address how Kharaneh IV occupations link to the local landscape and environmental changes. As an aggregation site, Kharaneh IV represents an interesting locale to explore the changing nature of aggregation and social cohesion prior to the origins of agriculture, as well as changes in technology and subsistence between the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic. We explore the tempo and nature of transition from one archaeological culture to the next through changes in technology and how this reflects the people making and using tools, to understand how foragers adapted to a changing landscape.     

The Taphonomy of Resource Intensification: Zooarchaeological Implications of Resource Scarcity Among Bofi and Aka Forest Foragers

Zooarchaeological analyses often rely on bone fragmentation, cut marks, and other taphonomic indicators to bolster interpretations of resource intensification that are based on observed changes in prey types and frequencies. While these taphonomic indicators are assumed to be good proxy measures of processing effort, this assumption is based on inadequate actualistic data and analysts often conflate one or more taphonomic indicators as manifestations of the same process. In this paper, we present zooarchaeological data from two villages occupied by Central African forest foragers with very different foraging efficiencies. These data provide the first case where known disparities in diet breadth and foraging efficiency are matched with prey assemblages and taphonomic attributes. Observational and quantitative data show differences between the villages in diet breadth and access to high-ranked prey, but specific taphonomic indicators such as cut mark distribution and intensity do not match predictions generated from models of resource intensification. We propose that linking different taphonomic processes to resource scarcity and intensification can provide powerful adjunctive information. However, because different processing outcomes may be associated with different kinds of resource intensification in response to different kinds of scarcity, we need to strengthen the validity of purported taphonomic indicators with more rigorous independent studies.     

Paleodemographic analysis of a fossil porcupine (Hystrix refossa Gervais, 1852) population from the Upper Pleistocene site of Geula Cave (Mount Carmel,Israel)

For decades zooarchaeological studies mainly focused on teeth age profiles to derive central hypotheses concerning human subsistence during the Pleistocene. Behavior was often related to hunting and/or scavenging strategies according to two models: attritional versus catastrophic. However, few studies have estimated basic demographic parameters using standard methods of population ecology, which are necessary for a more confident interpretation of animal paleopopulation structures. Thanks to a remarkably rich fossil bone assemblage from the Upper Pleistocene cave of Geula (Mount Carmel, Israel), in this paper we perform a paleodemographic analysis of Hystrix refossa, Gervais 1852 (Mammalia, Rodentia). We first consider phylogenetic and morphometric dental criteria for the comparison of Pleistocene porcupine species, followed by an examination of taphonomic conditions of the bone assemblage. We focus strongly on the age structure of the fossil population, presenting a new methodological approach that combines life tables and Leslie matrix models – one of the best-known methods in population ecology for assessing population growth and age distribution. We detail demographic parameters derived from cross-sectional life tables and past trends in the porcupine population at Geula Cave using simple matrix projection model. Finally, we were able to perform an elasticity analysis to identify which demographic component was potentially the most critical for influencing growth. We show that the population of H. refossa did not decline or shrink but was stable. Our results permit us to characterize Geula Cave as a natural shelter for porcupines, with limited evidence to scavenging and hunting by either hyenas or humans.     

The use of summed radiocarbon probability distributions in archaeology: a review of methods

Using a database of Australian archaeological radiocarbon dates (n = 2996), this paper explores three key methodological issues associated with the use of summed probability plots of radiocarbon data: 1) the minimum sample size needed for a statistically reliable plot; 2) the effect of radiocarbon calibration on the structure of these plots; and 3) the application of a taphonomic correction to such time-series data. The results identify several protocols, recommended as best-practice when using summed probability plots: 1) a minimum sample size of 500 radiocarbon dates should be used, and the sample size and the mean of the standard deviations of the radiocarbon dates (ΔT) in the sample should both be reported; 2) a moving average trendline of 500-800 years should be used to offset the effects of the calibration process; and 3) Surovell et al. “Correcting temporal frequency distributions for taphonomic bias” [Journal of Archaeological Science 36 (2009) 1715-1724] is explored, with modifications and temporal limits (<25,000 cal years BP) proposed. Correction of time-series data using theoretical taphonomic correction curves is useful as a heuristic tool but can obscure real trends if applied routinely. Comparison between summed probability plots and other occupation data is presented and shows good correlation. However it is recommended that plots are supplemented by other archaeological indices and the cross-comparison of such multiple proxies will strengthen identification of occupation trends.