Zooarchaeological Measures of Hunting Pressure and Occupation Intensity in the Natufian

2004/08/01 by Natalie D. Munro, Natalie D. Munro · 13 citations
Social Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies

paper · doi:10.1086/422084

Abstract

Climatic change, population pressure, and environmental stress are frequently cited as major catalysts for the adoption of agriculture. The role of these factors immediately prior to the agricultural transition in the southern Levant is here explored by reconstructing human economic and demographic conditions in the Natufian period. Thorough processing of gazelle carcasses for edible products including meat, marrow, and bone grease and the capture of abundant juvenile animals reflect intensive yet stable ungulateprocurement strategies across the Natufian. Despite this stability, a dramatic shift in the ratio of high to lowranked game at the Early/Late Natufian boundary signals a reduction in siteoccupation intensity and increased population mobility immediately prior to the agricultural transition. Contrary to current models, the faunal evidence suggests not that agriculture was adopted in immediate response to the cooling and drying of the Younger Dryas but that the Late Natufians embraced more costeffective demographic solutions for coping with environmental stress.

Citations

• The Pleistocene to Holocene Transition and Human Economy in Southwest Asia: The Impact of the Younger Dryas

Cited by

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• Exploring exchange and direct procurement strategies for Natufian food processing tools of el-Wad Terrace, Israel. [europepmc]
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• Epipalaeolithic animal tending to Neolithic herding at Abu Hureyra, Syria (12,800-7,800 calBP): Deciphering dung spherulites. [europepmc]
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