Beyond fast and slow: The mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi (order Rodentia) as a test case for subsistence intensification of complex Natufian foragers in southwest Asia

Weissbrod, Lior; Bar-Oz, Guy; Yeshurun, Reuven; Weinstein‐Evron, Mina

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.05.021

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Evergreen oak and other typical eastern Mediterranean woody species were utilized, along with grasses142425. Animal exploitation centered on hunting and probably trapping of a wide variety of mostly small-bodied game1326. Together, the botanical and faunal data indicate a mosaic of open and wooded Mediterranean environments during the Natufian.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

14,000-year-old seeds indicate the Levantine origin of the lost progenitor of faba bean

Caracuta

Weinstein‐Evron

Kaufman

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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The understanding of crop domestication is dependent on tracking the original geographical distribution of wild relatives. The faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is economically important in many countries around the world; nevertheless, its origin has been debated because its ancestor could not be securely identified. Recent investigations in the site of el-Wad (Mount Carmel, Israel), provide the first and, so far, only remains of the lost ancestor of faba bean. X-ray CT scan analysis of the faba beans provides the first set of measurements of the biometry of this species before its domestication. The presence of wild specimens in Mount Carmel, 14,000 years ago, supports that the wild variety grew nearby in the Lower Galilee where the first domestication was documented for Neolithic farmers 10,200 years ago.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

14,000-year-old seeds indicate the Levantine origin of the lost progenitor of faba bean

Caracuta

Weinstein‐Evron

Kaufman

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Some of these studies incorporate a relatively holistic view of rodent commensalism [6,7], but few have sought to examine a comprehensive range of factors that might influence the composition of rodent bone assemblages (e.g. [8,9]). The majority focus on more specific aspects, for example, the possible inclusion of rodent remains in ritual contexts [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rodents: food or pests in Neolithic Orkney

Romaniuk

Shepherd²,

Clarke

et al. 2016

R. Soc. open sci.

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Rodents have important effects on contemporary human societies, sometimes providing a source of food but more often as agricultural pests, or as vectors and reservoirs of disease. Skeletal remains of rodents are commonly found in archaeological assemblages from around the world, highlighting their potential importance to ancient human populations. However, there are few studies of the interactions between people and rodents at such sites and most of these are confined to locations where rodents have formed a part of the recent diet. Here we compare the accumulation pattern of rodent remains from four locations within and adjacent to the renowned Neolithic site of Skara Brae, Orkney, showing that those within the settlement itself were the result of deliberate human activity. The accumulation and nature of burnt bones, incorporated over an extended period within deposits of household waste, indicate that rodents were used as a nutritional resource and may have been the subject of early pest control. We, therefore, provide the first evidence for the exploitation or control of rodents by the Neolithic inhabitants of Europe.

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“…25 to include diverse rodent remains that originated from owl predation, while the domestic contexts included numerous mole-rat (Spalax sp.) remains bearing some evidence of human consumption 16 . Similarly, ungulate and small mammal game remains were mostly consumed and discarded in the domestic contexts, with occasional toss of the largest remains forming the Loc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Squamate bone taphonomy: A new experimental framework and its application to the Natufian zooarchaeological record

Lev

Weinstein‐Evron

Yeshurun

2020

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Squamate (lizard and snake) remains are abundant in the terminal Pleistocene Natufian archaeological sites of the Levant, raising the question of whether they constitute part of the broad-spectrum diet characteristic of this period. However, the role of squamates in Natufian diets remains unclear, as they are taphonomically under-studied. We conducted a series of experiments and actualistic observations that tested the impact of pre-and post-depositional processes on squamate vertebrae. We emphasized the multiple destruction processes that leave overlapping or altered marks on the bones, such as digestion marks that were modified by trampling. The resulting bone modification typology provides a tool for studying archaeological squamate remains. the experimental data were compared to the archaeological bone samples of the Natufian sequence of el-Wad Terrace (Mount Carmel, Israel, 15,000-12,000 cal BP). The Natufian squamate samples deviate from all actualistic ones in their lesser evidence of digestion and much greater indications for trampling, erosion and breakage. the taphonomic study, coupled with intra-site analysis, has unraveled the complex depositional history of el-Wad terrace, enabling us to differentiate between cultural and non-cultural contexts and to identify possible human consumption of the European glass lizard and the large whip snake in the Natufian. Squamate (lizard and snake) remains have been sporadically studied in zooarchaeology 1-12 , and rarely has their role in human subsistence been established (but see 8). These remains are known to have been abundant in the early sedentary hamlets of the Natufian culture of the Levant 13 (late Epipaleolithic, ca. 15,000-11,700 cal BP), together with abundant small game remains and naturally-deposited micro-mammals. This raises the question of squamate accumulation mechanisms and especially whether they were part of the broad human subsistence that characterized this period 13-16. The site of el-Wad Terrace (EWT), Mount Carmel, Israel (Fig. 1), one of the major Natufian hamlets of the Levantine Mediterranean region, includes both the Early Natufian (EN) and the Late Natufian (LN) phases, the former characterized by numerous architectural sub-phases 17,18. Recent excavations at the site have exposed dense layers with extremely rich lithic and faunal assemblages that include a high percentage of squamate remains 13. The expansion of diet breadth to include a wide variety of game, often referred to as the Broad Spectrum Revolution (BSR 19), which arguably marks considerable resource intensification, is a prominent topic in Natufian studies. Broadening Natufian diets may signal an early shift to sedentism among the foraging groups of the terminal Pleistocene Levant 13,20-24. This process could be instrumental in the Neolithization process that immediately succeeded the Natufian 25. While squamates are abundant at many Natufian sites and at EWT in particular, they are usually excluded from human subsistence studies that attempt to establish diet breadth by ...

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Beyond fast and slow: The mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi (order Rodentia) as a test case for subsistence intensification of complex Natufian foragers in southwest Asia

Cited by 20 publications

References 38 publications

14,000-year-old seeds indicate the Levantine origin of the lost progenitor of faba bean

14,000-year-old seeds indicate the Levantine origin of the lost progenitor of faba bean

Rodents: food or pests in Neolithic Orkney

Squamate bone taphonomy: A new experimental framework and its application to the Natufian zooarchaeological record

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