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

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

“…1). The project applies fine-recovery techniques including wet screening of all sediments through 1 mm mesh and focuses on the intersection between anthropological and paleoenvironmental questions (Weinstein-Evron, 1998;Bar-Oz, 2004; Bar-Oz et al, 2004; Weissbrod et al, 2005;Weinstein-Evron et al, 2007;Yeshurun et al, 2009).…”

“…Previous research on the taphonomy of the micromammalian fauna from one of the chronological phases at the site e the Late Natufian e has shown that the majority of the material accumulated through the activity of non-human predators, most likely owls roosting in the rock cliff overhanging the site (Weissbrod et al, 2005). In that study, the micromammalian remains from the site were compared to material from recent predator accumulations using a number of taphonomic characteristics.…”

Niche construction theory as an explanatory framework for human phenomena

“…This by itself points to a profound societal transformation: The typical size of a nomadic foragers' band, typically an extended family, is around 25, and only a handful of flimsy structures have been found that could be dated to pre-Natufian periods 3 . Converging archaeological and genetic findings (Tchernov 1991;Boursot et al 1993;Weissbrod et al 2005;Saetre et al 2012) show the Natufian era and their settlement to be the origin of several human commensals such as the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), the house mouse (Mus muculus) and possibly even one canine strain (Tchernov and Valla 1997;Gray et al 2010).…”

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

“…Mortality curves are usually constructed from dental remains of large mammals (essentially ungulates: Grayson, 1978Grayson, , 1984Ringrose, 1993;Lyman, 1994;Steele, 2004Steele, , 2005 or small mammals (rabbit-sized or smaller: Korth and Evander, 1986;Bryant, 1991;Weissbrod et al, 2005) since teeth are generally the best-preserved elements. Age profiles are then usually related to attritional or catastrophic mortality patterns (Brugal and David, 1993;Klein, 1982;Klein and Cruz-Uribe, 1983;Levine, 1983;Lubinski, 2000;Lubinski and O'Brien, 2001;Lyman, 1994;Steele and Weaver, 2002;Stiner, 1990).…”