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Shavit A, Sharon G. Can models of evolutionary transition clarify the debates over the Neolithic Revolution? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210413. [PMID: 36688395 PMCID: PMC9869441 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The 'Neolithic Revolution,' sometimes referred to as the emergence of agriculture at its earliest in the southern Levant, is the most significant shift in human history, shaping the world we live in today. Yet, after 100 years of study, its major cause, tempo (gradual or revolutionary), and impact of human intentionality remain disputed. Here, we examine the research potential of an evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI) to clarify this dramatic shift. Applying an ETI research perspective reveals how different causes and conditions lead to the same result, enabling a holistic view rather than a reduction of 'Neolithic' to 'agriculture,' or to one major climatic condition, inheritance system or standard evolutionary model, thus allowing us to clarify and bypass some of these heated, unresolved disputes. Additionally, unlike current archaeological emphasis on 'where,' 'when,' 'why' and 'how' questions, the ETI perspective offers a productive path for resolving a fundamental preliminary anomaly: why and how could the Neolithic lifeway evolve at all, given the selfish interest of individuals in a hunter-gatherer group? We do not intend to solve the shift to Neolithic lifeways, only to offer a fresh lens for examining it, emphasizing the relevance of tracking within and between group differences. This article is part of the theme issue 'Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayelet Shavit
- Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Tel Hai College, 1220800, Israel,Department of Humanities and Arts, Technion, 3200003 Israel
| | - Gonen Sharon
- Department of Humanities and Arts, Technion, 3200003 Israel
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2
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Pedergnana A, Cristiani E, Munro N, Valletta F, Sharon G. Early line and hook fishing at the Epipaleolithic site of Jordan River Dureijat (Northern Israel). PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257710. [PMID: 34613991 PMCID: PMC8494375 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Nineteen broken and complete bone fish hooks and six grooved stones recovered from the Epipaleolithic site of Jordan River Dureijat in the Hula Valley of Israel represent the largest collection of fishing technology from the Epipaleolithic and Paleolithic periods. Although Jordan River Dureijat was occupied throughout the Epipaleolithic (~20-10 kya the fish hooks appear only at the later stage of this period (15,000-12,000 cal BP). This paper presents a multidimensional study of the hooks, grooved stones, site context, and the fish assemblage from macro and micro perspectives following technological, use wear, residue and zooarchaeological approaches. The study of the fish hooks reveals significant variability in hook size, shape and feature type and provides the first evidence that several landmark innovations in fishing technology were already in use at this early date. These include inner and outer barbs, a variety of line attachment techniques including knobs, grooves and adhesives and some of the earliest evidence for artificial lures. Wear on the grooved stones is consistent with their use as sinkers while plant fibers recovered from the grooves of one hook shank and one stone suggest the use of fishing line. This together with associations between the grooved stones and hooks in the same archaeological layers, suggests the emergence of a sophisticated line and hook technology. The complexity of this technology is highlighted by the multiple steps required to manufacture each component and combine them into an integrated system. The appearance of such technology in the Levantine Epipaleolithic record reflects a deep knowledge of fish behavior and ecology. This coincides with significant larger-scale patterns in subsistence evolution, namely broad spectrum foraging, which is an important first signal of the beginning of the transition to agriculture in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Pedergnana
- TraCEr, Laboratory for Traceology and Controlled Experiments at MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, RGZM, Mainz, Germany
| | - Emanuela Cristiani
- DANTE–Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillo-Facial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Natalie Munro
- Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs Mansfield, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Francesco Valletta
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Gonen Sharon
- Department of Galilee Studies (M.A.), Tel Hai College, Qiryat Shemona, Israel
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Tsakalos E, Efstratiou N, Bassiakos Y, Kazantzaki M, Filippaki E. Early Cypriot Prehistory. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1086/716100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Santana J, Millard A, Ibáñez-Estevez JJ, Bocquentin F, Nowell G, Peterkin J, Macpherson C, Muñiz J, Anton M, Alrousan M, Kafafi Z. Multi-isotope evidence of population aggregation in the Natufian and scant migration during the early Neolithic of the Southern Levant. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11857. [PMID: 34088922 PMCID: PMC8178372 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90795-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Human mobility and migration are thought to have played essential roles in the consolidation and expansion of sedentary villages, long-distance exchanges and transmission of ideas and practices during the Neolithic transition of the Near East. Few isotopic studies of human remains dating to this early complex transition offer direct evidence of mobility and migration. The aim of this study is to identify first-generation non-local individuals from Natufian to Pre-Pottery Neolithic C periods to explore the scope of human mobility and migration during the Neolithic transition in the Southern Levant, an area that is central to this historical process. The study adopted a multi-approach resorting to strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18OVSMOW) and carbon (δ13C) isotope ratio analyses of tooth enamel of 67 human individuals from five sites in Jordan, Syria, and Israel. The isotope ratios point both to a significant level of human migration and/or mobility in the Final Natufian which is compatible with early sedentarism and seasonal mobility and with population aggregation in early sedentary hamlets. The current findings, in turn, offer evidence that most individuals dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic were local to their respective settlements despite certain evidence of non-locals. Interestingly, isotopic data suggest that two possible non-local individuals benefitted from particular burial practices. The results underscore a decrease in human mobility and migration as farming became increasingly dominant among the subsistence strategies throughout the Neolithic transition of the Southern Levant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Santana
- grid.8250.f0000 0000 8700 0572Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK ,grid.4521.20000 0004 1769 9380G.I. Tarha, Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
| | - Andrew Millard
- grid.8250.f0000 0000 8700 0572Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Juan J. Ibáñez-Estevez
- grid.483414.e0000 0001 2097 4142Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Institución Milá y Fontanals, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Fanny Bocquentin
- grid.463799.60000 0001 2326 1930Cogitamus Laboratory and CNRS, UMR 7041, ArScAn, Equipe Ethnologie Préhistorique, MSH Mondes, Nanterre, France
| | - Geoffrey Nowell
- grid.8250.f0000 0000 8700 0572Department of Earth Science, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Joanne Peterkin
- grid.8250.f0000 0000 8700 0572Department of Earth Science, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Colin Macpherson
- grid.8250.f0000 0000 8700 0572Department of Earth Science, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Juan Muñiz
- Pontificia Facultad de San Esteban de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Marie Anton
- grid.10988.380000 0001 2173 743XUniversité Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France ,grid.4444.00000 0001 2112 9282CNRS, UMR 7206, Musée de l’Homme, Éco-Anthropologie et Ethnologie, Paris, France
| | - Mohammad Alrousan
- grid.14440.350000 0004 0622 5497Department of Anthropology, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
| | - Zeidan Kafafi
- grid.14440.350000 0004 0622 5497Department of Archaeology, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
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Rosenberg D, Gluhak TM, Kaufman D, Yeshurun R, Weinstein-Evron M. Exploring exchange and direct procurement strategies for Natufian food processing tools of el-Wad Terrace, Israel. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9480. [PMID: 33947889 PMCID: PMC8096842 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88484-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
We present the results of a detailed geochemical provenance study of 54 Natufian (ca. 15,000–11,700 cal. BP) basalt pestles from the site of el-Wad Terrace (EWT), Israel. It is the first time precise locations from where basalt raw materials were derived are provided. The results indicate that the Natufian hunter-gatherers used multiple sources of basaltic rocks, distributed over a large area surrounding the Sea of Galilee. This area is located at a considerable distance from EWT, ca. 60–120 km away, in a region where contemporaneous Natufian basecamps are few. We consider two possible models that suggest vehicles for the transportation of these artifacts to EWT, namely the exchange obtaining model (EOM) and the direct procurement model (DPM). We argue that these mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and may have operated together. We also suggest that at a time of increasing Natufian territoriality, a large area around the Sea of Galilee remained unclaimed. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications for the two models. In particular, we note that the DPM implies that technological know-how for pestle production was maintained within the EWT community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danny Rosenberg
- Laboratory for Ground Stone Tools Research, The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
| | - Tatjana M Gluhak
- Römisch Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Ernst Ludwig Platz 2, 55124, Mainz, Germany
| | - Daniel Kaufman
- The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Reuven Yeshurun
- The Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Willman JC, Lacy SA. Oral pathological conditions of an Early Epipaleolithic human from Southwest Asia: Ohalo II H2 as a probable case of intentional dental ablation. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2020; 30:68-76. [PMID: 32485536 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2020.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/10/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe the oral pathological conditions of Ohalo II H2, an Early Epipaleolithic human from southwest Asia. MATERIALS The dentognathic skeleton of Ohalo II H2 and relevant comparative data from similar chronological and/or geographic contexts. METHODS Gross and x-ray observations of oral pathological conditions and occlusal wear were made following published protocols. A differential diagnosis of antemortem tooth loss is provided. RESULTS Ohalo 2 has two carious lesions on the right M3, pulpal exposure of left M1, and mild to moderate anterior alveolar bone loss. The right I1 was lost antemortem, and there is probably agenesis of the left M3. CONCLUSIONS The pathological conditions noted are not exceptional for a Late Upper Paleolithic forager. However, the antemortem missing right I1 is most parsimoniously explained by intentional dental ablation. SIGNIFICANCE Ohalo 2 could represent the oldest example of dental ablation from the Late Pleistocene circum-Mediterranean world - predating the earliest examples from both North Africa and southwest Asia by several thousand years. The similarity of the Ohalo 2 ablation pattern with later Natufians provides further evidence of potential long-term behavioral trends related to the embodiment of social identities through international body modification within the Epipaleolithic of southwest Asia. LIMITATIONS The pre-Natufian (∼23,000-14,500 cal BP) human fossil record is relatively sparse, making comparisons with the Natufian (∼14,500-11,500 cal BP) phases of the Epipaleolithic difficult. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Documentation of oral pathological conditions for other pre-Natufian fossils would provide greater resolution of the temporospatial patterning of oral health and embodied social identities during the Epipaleolithic of southwest Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Willman
- Laboratory of Prehistory, CIAS - Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Sarah A Lacy
- Department of Anthropology, California State University-Dominguez Hills, SBS G323, 1000 E Victoria St, Carson, CA, 90747, USA
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Emergence of corpse cremation during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Southern Levant: A multidisciplinary study of a pyre-pit burial. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0235386. [PMID: 32785221 PMCID: PMC7423105 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Renewed excavations at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun (Upper Jordan Valley, Israel) has resulted in the discovery of the earliest occurrence of an intentional cremation in the Near East directly dated to 7031–6700 cal BC (Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, also known as Final PPNB, which spans ca. 7100–6400 cal BC). The funerary treatment involved in situ cremation within a pyre-pit of a young adult individual who previously survived from a flint projectile injury. In this study we have used a multidisciplinary approach that integrates archaeothanatology, spatial analysis, bioanthropology, zooarchaeology, soil micromorphological analysis, and phytolith identification in order to reconstruct the different stages and techniques involved in this ritual: cremation pit construction, selection of fuel, possible initial position of the corpse, potential associated items and funerary containers, fire management, post-cremation gesture and structure abandonment. The origins and development of cremation practices in the region are explored as well as their significance in terms of Northern-Southern Levantine connections during the transition between the 8th and 7th millennia BC.
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Cucchi T, Papayianni K, Cersoy S, Aznar-Cormano L, Zazzo A, Debruyne R, Berthon R, Bălășescu A, Simmons A, Valla F, Hamilakis Y, Mavridis F, Mashkour M, Darvish J, Siahsarvi R, Biglari F, Petrie CA, Weeks L, Sardari A, Maziar S, Denys C, Orton D, Jenkins E, Zeder M, Searle JB, Larson G, Bonhomme F, Auffray JC, Vigne JD. Tracking the Near Eastern origins and European dispersal of the western house mouse. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8276. [PMID: 32427845 PMCID: PMC7237409 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64939-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The house mouse (Mus musculus) represents the extreme of globalization of invasive mammals. However, the timing and basis of its origin and early phases of dispersal remain poorly documented. To track its synanthropisation and subsequent invasive spread during the develoment of complex human societies, we analyzed 829 Mus specimens from 43 archaeological contexts in Southwestern Asia and Southeastern Europe, between 40,000 and 3,000 cal. BP, combining geometric morphometrics numerical taxonomy, ancient mitochondrial DNA and direct radiocarbon dating. We found that large late hunter-gatherer sedentary settlements in the Levant, c. 14,500 cal. BP, promoted the commensal behaviour of the house mouse, which probably led the commensal pathway to cat domestication. House mouse invasive spread was then fostered through the emergence of agriculture throughout the Near East 12,000 years ago. Stowaway transport of house mice to Cyprus can be inferred as early as 10,800 years ago. However, the house mouse invasion of Europe did not happen until the development of proto urbanism and exchange networks - 6,500 years ago in Eastern Europe and 4000 years ago in Southern Europe - which in turn may have driven the first human mediated dispersal of cats in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Cucchi
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
| | - Katerina Papayianni
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
- Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science, American School of Classical Studies, Souidias 54, 10676, Athens, Greece
| | - Sophie Cersoy
- Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation (CRC), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, CP 21, 36 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Laetitia Aznar-Cormano
- Centre de recherche en Paléontologie Paris, UMR7207, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 8 rue Buffon, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Antoine Zazzo
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Régis Debruyne
- DGD-REVE, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 17 Place du Trocadéro, bureau E205, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Rémi Berthon
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Adrian Bălășescu
- Vasile Pârvan, Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, 11 Henri Coandă Street, Bucarest, Romania
| | - Alan Simmons
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas/Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - François Valla
- Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (Arscan), UMR 7041 CNRS, Université de Paris Nanterre, Paris I, 92023, Nanterre, France
| | - Yannis Hamilakis
- Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University, Box 1837, 60 George Street, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - Fanis Mavridis
- Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology and Speleology, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Ardittou 34B, 11636, Athens, Greece
| | - Marjan Mashkour
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Jamshid Darvish
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Roohollah Siahsarvi
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
| | | | - Cameron A Petrie
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ, UK
| | - Lloyd Weeks
- Archaeology, School of HASS, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia
| | - Alireza Sardari
- Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT), Iranian Center for Archaeological Research (ICAR), Tehran, Iran
| | - Sepideh Maziar
- Near Eastern Archaeology, Institute für Archäologie Wissenschaften, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Christiane Denys
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), UMR 7205, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Université, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Université des Antilles, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - David Orton
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Emma Jenkins
- Institute for the Modelling of Socio-Environmental Transitions, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK
| | - Melinda Zeder
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Jeremy B Searle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Corson Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-2701, USA
| | - Greger Larson
- Palaeogenomics and Bio-Archaeology Research Network, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK
| | - François Bonhomme
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (ISEM), UMR 4554, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Jean-Christophe Auffray
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (ISEM), UMR 4554, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Jean-Denis Vigne
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
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Friesem DE, Abadi I, Shaham D, Grosman L. Lime plaster cover of the dead 12,000 years ago - new evidence for the origins of lime plaster technology. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2019; 1:e9. [PMID: 37588409 PMCID: PMC10427327 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2019.9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The production of lime plaster is especially important as a technological development in human prehistory as it requires advanced knowledge and skills to transform rocks to a plastic yet durable material. The large-scale production of lime plaster is considered a development of farming societies during the Neolithic period around 10,000 years ago. To date, the archaeological evidence from the Middle and Late Epipalaeolithic in the southern Levant (c. 17,000-11,500 cal BP) indicates that only initial production of partially carbonated lime plaster was performed by Palaeolithic foragers. Our study analysed lime plaster covering burials at a Natufian cemetery in Nahal Ein Gev II, dating to 12,000 years ago. Using infrared spectroscopy and soil micromorphology we show how this lime plaster is of an unprecedented high quality and we reconstruct its production. The results exhibit a technological leap forward at the end of the Palaeolithic. We provide a new model for understanding the evolutionary paths of lime plaster technology during the Palaeolithic-Neolithic transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E. Friesem
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, 199 Aba-Hushi Avenue, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
| | - Itay Abadi
- Mount Scopus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology, 9190501 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Dana Shaham
- Mount Scopus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology, 9190501 Jerusalem, Israel
- The Jack, Joseph and Morton Scholion–Mandel School for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190501 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Leore Grosman
- Mount Scopus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology, 9190501 Jerusalem, Israel
- The Jack, Joseph and Morton Scholion–Mandel School for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190501 Jerusalem, Israel
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Jones MD, Abu‐Jaber N, AlShdaifat A, Baird D, Cook BI, Cuthbert MO, Dean JR, Djamali M, Eastwood W, Fleitmann D, Haywood A, Kwiecien O, Larsen J, Maher LA, Metcalfe SE, Parker A, Petrie CA, Primmer N, Richter T, Roberts N, Roe J, Tindall JC, Ünal‐İmer E, Weeks L. 20,000 years of societal vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in southwest Asia. WIRES. WATER 2019; 6:e1330. [PMID: 33362922 PMCID: PMC7754156 DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Revised: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The Fertile Crescent, its hilly flanks and surrounding drylands has been a critical region for studying how climate has influenced societal change, and this review focuses on the region over the last 20,000 years. The complex social, economic, and environmental landscapes in the region today are not new phenomena and understanding their interactions requires a nuanced, multidisciplinary understanding of the past. This review builds on a history of collaboration between the social and natural palaeoscience disciplines. We provide a multidisciplinary, multiscalar perspective on the relevance of past climate, environmental, and archaeological research in assessing present day vulnerabilities and risks for the populations of southwest Asia. We discuss the complexity of palaeoclimatic data interpretation, particularly in relation to hydrology, and provide an overview of key time periods of palaeoclimatic interest. We discuss the critical role that vegetation plays in the human-climate-environment nexus and discuss the implications of the available palaeoclimate and archaeological data, and their interpretation, for palaeonarratives of the region, both climatically and socially. We also provide an overview of how modelling can improve our understanding of past climate impacts and associated change in risk to societies. We conclude by looking to future work, and identify themes of "scale" and "seasonality" as still requiring further focus. We suggest that by appreciating a given locale's place in the regional hydroscape, be it an archaeological site or palaeoenvironmental archive, more robust links to climate can be made where appropriate and interpretations drawn will demand the resolution of factors acting across multiple scales. This article is categorized under:Human Water > Water as Imagined and RepresentedScience of Water > Water and Environmental ChangeWater and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nizar Abu‐Jaber
- Center for the Study of Natural and Cultural HeritageGerman Jordanian UniversityAmmanJordan
| | | | - Douglas Baird
- Department of Archaeology, Classics and EgyptologyUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | | | | | | | - Morteza Djamali
- Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie (UMR 7263—CNRS/Aix‐Marseille Université/IRD/Université d'Avignon)Aix‐en ProvenceFrance
| | - Warren Eastwood
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Dominik Fleitmann
- Department of Archaeology and Centre for Past Climate ChangeUniversity of ReadingReadingUK
| | - Alan Haywood
- School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - Ola Kwiecien
- Institute for Geology, Mineralogy and GeophysicsRuhr‐Universität BochumBochumGermany
| | - Joshua Larsen
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Lisa A. Maher
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeleyCalifornia
| | | | - Adrian Parker
- Department of Social Sciences, Human Origins and Palaeoenvironments Research GroupOxford Brookes UniversityOxfordUK
| | - Cameron A. Petrie
- Department of Archaeology and AnthropologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Nick Primmer
- School of GeographyUniversity of NottinghamNottinghamUK
| | - Tobias Richter
- Center for the Study of Early Agricultural SocietiesUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Neil Roberts
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesPlymouth UniversityPlymouthUK
| | - Joe Roe
- Institute of ArchaeologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | | | - Ezgi Ünal‐İmer
- Department of Geological EngineeringHacettepe UniversityAnkaraTurkey
| | - Lloyd Weeks
- School of Humanities, Arts and Social SciencesUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNew South WalesAustralia
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Zohar I, Dayan T, Goren M, Nadel D, Hershkovitz I. Opportunism or aquatic specialization? Evidence of freshwater fish exploitation at Ohalo II- A waterlogged Upper Paleolithic site. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198747. [PMID: 29912923 PMCID: PMC6005578 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Analysis of ca. 17,000 fish remains recovered from the late Upper Paleolithic/early Epi-Paleolithic (LGM; 23,000 BP) waterlogged site of Ohalo II (Rift Valley, Israel) provides new insights into the role of wetland habitats and the fish inhabiting them during the evolution of economic strategies prior to the agricultural evolution. Of the current 19 native fish species in Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), eight species were identified at Ohalo II, belonging to two freshwater families: Cyprinidae (carps) and Cichlidae (St. Peter fish). Employing a large set of quantitative and qualitative criteria (NISP, species richness, diversity, skeletal element representation, fragmentation, color, spatial distribution, etc.), we demonstrate that the inhabitants of Ohalo II used their knowledge of the breeding behavior of different species of fish, for year-round intensive exploitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irit Zohar
- Beit Margolin Biological Collections, Oranim Academic College, Kiryat Tivon, Israel
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tamar Dayan
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Menachem Goren
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Dani Nadel
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Israel Hershkovitz
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Origins of house mice in ecological niches created by settled hunter-gatherers in the Levant 15,000 y ago. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:4099-4104. [PMID: 28348225 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1619137114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Reductions in hunter-gatherer mobility during the Late Pleistocene influenced settlement ecologies, altered human relations with animal communities, and played a pivotal role in domestication. The influence of variability in human mobility on selection dynamics and ecological interactions in human settlements has not been extensively explored, however. This study of mice in modern African villages and changing mice molar shapes in a 200,000-y-long sequence from the Levant demonstrates competitive advantages for commensal mice in long-term settlements. Mice from African pastoral households provide a referential model for habitat partitioning among mice taxa in settlements of varying durations. The data reveal the earliest known commensal niche for house mice in long-term forager settlements 15,000 y ago. Competitive dynamics and the presence and abundance of mice continued to fluctuate with human mobility through the terminal Pleistocene. At the Natufian site of Ain Mallaha, house mice displaced less commensal wild mice during periods of heavy occupational pressure but were outcompeted when mobility increased. Changing food webs and ecological dynamics in long-term settlements allowed house mice to establish durable commensal populations that expanded with human societies. This study demonstrates the changing magnitude of cultural niche construction with varying human mobility and the extent of environmental influence before the advent of farming.
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Hunted gazelles evidence cooling, but not drying, during the Younger Dryas in the southern Levant. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:3997-4002. [PMID: 27035951 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1519862113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The climatic downturn known globally as the Younger Dryas (YD; ∼12,900-11,500 BP) has frequently been cited as a prime mover of agricultural origins and has thus inspired enthusiastic debate over its local impact. This study presents seasonal climatic data from the southern Levant obtained from the sequential sampling of gazelle tooth carbonates from the Early and Late Natufian archaeological sites of Hayonim and Hilazon Tachtit Caves (western Galilee, Israel). Our results challenge the entrenched model that assumes that warm temperatures and high precipitation are synonymous with climatic amelioration and cold and wet conditions are combined in climatic downturns. Enamel carbon isotope values from teeth of human-hunted gazelle dating before and during the YD provide a proxy measure for water availability during plant growth. They reveal that although the YD was cooler, it was not drier than the preceding Bølling-Allerød. In addition, the magnitude of the seasonal curve constructed from oxygen isotopes is significantly dampened during the YD, indicating that cooling was most pronounced in the growing season. Cool temperatures likely affected the productivity of staple wild cereal resources. We hypothesize that human groups responded by shifting settlement strategies-increasing population mobility and perhaps moving to the warmer Jordan Valley where wild cereals were more productive and stable.
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