Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic gazelle hunting in the Badia of north-east Jordan. Reconstruction of seasonal movements of herds by stable isotope and dental microwear analyses

Abstract

In the northeast Jordan steppe, gazelle were of considerable economic importance to human groups during the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic. An influential model argues that gazelle herds migrated through the region and were only seasonally available to hunters. This study tests that model, asking whether gazelle were indeed highly seasonally mobile during these time frames, or whether they could have remained more local, adapted to periodically resource-rich habitats, and thus been available to hunters throughout the year. Interpretation of animal location, diet and season, through stable isotope analyses and microwear studies of archaeological gazelle teeth from ten chronologically and spatially varied sites, suggests herds did not migrate. Rather, gazelle appear to have had relatively local year round habitats in the steppe during the Epipalaeolithic at least, while possibly ranging further and becoming more mobile in the Neolithic.

Multi-isotope evidence of population aggregation in the Natufian and scant migration during the early Neolithic of the Southern Levant

“…2 , S2 ). Moreover, the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios from the volcanic area (Tell Qarassa North) surpass those recorded for the adjacent volcanic regions such as the Golan Heights and the Jebel el Druze 58 , albeit lower than those of the volcanic area of the Black Dessert in North-eastern Jordan 59 , 60 (Table S3 ). Furthermore, most individuals fall within local strontium baseline ratios corresponding to the geological zones of their archaeological sites (Fig.…”

“…When regarding the values of Beisamoun and ‘Ain Mallaha/Eynan as a whole, there is still a significant gap between this outlier and the locals from Hula basin where each of the sites are located. They most likely hail from a limestone area, potentially either the eastern or western highlands based on available 87 Sr/ 86 Sr local baseline ratios 29 , 51 , 58 , 60 – 62 , 68 . These individuals offer a mean δ 18 O VSMOW value of 25.78 ± 0.22‰ (2σ) from a range of 25.67 to 26.18‰.…”

A review to the Desert Kite: State of the Art!

“…In fact, it may be that changes in wild animal behavior driven by the development of pastoralism made the use of desert kites an effective approach (Henton et al, 2018). The function of kites may also have changed over time (Bar-Oz et al, 2011;Hill et al, 2020).…”

Following the herds? A new distribution of hunting kites in Southwest Asia

“…In the eastern Badia, by the mid-seventh millennium BCE, subsistence was characterized by a mixed economy that combined livestock and hunting (Martin and Edwards, 2013). Stable isotope and dental microwear analysis of Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic gazelle samples from the Badia have been used to suggest encroaching pastoralism may have influenced increasing range mobility in gazelle herds, although migratory distances still appear to have been relatively limited (Henton et al, 2018), while other studies have highlighted the heterogenous adoption and adaptation of pastoralism in this region (Miller et al, 2019).…”