The fauna from Mughr el-Hamamah, Jordan: Insights on human hunting behavior during the Early Upper Paleolithic
2024 (English)In: Journal of Human Evolution, ISSN 0047-2484, E-ISSN 1095-8606, Vol. 190, article id 103518Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Sustainable development
Not refering to any SDG
Abstract [en]
As a corridor for population movement out of Africa, the southern Levant is a natural laboratory for research exploring the dynamics of the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition. Yet, the number of well-preserved sites dating to the initial millennia of the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP; ~45–30 ka) remains limited, restricting the resolution at which we can study the biocultural and techno-typological changes evidenced across the transition. With EUP deposits dating to 45–39 ka cal BP, Mughr el-Hamamah, Jordan, offers a key opportunity to expand our understanding of EUP lifeways in the southern Levant. Mughr el-Hamamah is particularly noteworthy for its large faunal assemblage, representing the first such assemblage from the Jordan Valley. In this paper, we present results from taxonomic and taphonomic analyses of the EUP fauna from Mughr el-Hamamah. Given broader debates about shifts in human subsistence across the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition, we also assess ev- idence for subsistence intensification, focusing especially on the exploitation of gazelle and the use of small game. Taphonomic data suggest that the fauna was primarily accumulated by human activity. Ungulates dominate the assemblage; gazelle (Gazella sp.) is the most common taxa, followed by fallow deer (Dama meso- potamica) and goat (Capra sp.). Among the gazelle, juveniles account for roughly one-third of the sample. While the focus on gazelle and the frequency of juveniles are consistent with broader regional trends, evidence for the regular exploitation of marrow from gazelle phalanges suggests that the EUP occupants of Mughr el-Hamamah processed gazelle carcasses quite intensively. Yet, the overall degree of dietary intensification appears low- —small game is rare and evidence for human capture of this game is more equivocal. As a whole, our results support a growing body of data showing gradual shifts in animal exploitation strategies across the Middle-to- Upper Paleolithic transition in the southern Levant.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2024. Vol. 190, article id 103518
Keywords [en]
Zooarchaeology, Southern Levant, Subsistence, intensification, Gazelle, Ahmarian
National Category
Archaeology
Research subject
Humanities, Archaeology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-128447DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103518ISI: 001215877100001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85188679963OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-128447DiVA, id: diva2:1846956
Projects
The Western Ajlun Early Prehistory Project
Note
Zooarchaeological analysis was funded primarily by a Leakey Foundation grant to J.L.C. and G.H. Additional funding for the Mughr el- Hamamah project was provided by a National Science Foundation HighJournal of Human Evolution 190 (2024) 103518 Risk Research in Anthropology grant to A.J.S. and L.N.S. (BCS- 1025352); a Leakey Foundation grant to A.J.S., L.N.S., J.L.C., and Trina Arpin; a Wenner-Gren grant to A.J.S., L.N.S., and Chantel White; 65 individual backers who contributed to the project via experiment.com; Leakey Foundation funding to L.N.S., A.J.S., and Chantel White; and Irene L ́evi-Sala CAREFoundation support to A.J.S. and Chantel White. J. L.C. also received research support from the University of Alaska Fair- banks College of Liberal Arts.
2024-03-262024-03-262024-10-22Bibliographically approved