Past fish provenance, exploitation and trade patterns were studied by analyzing phosphate oxygen isotope compositions (δ
O
) of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) tooth enameloid from archaeological ...sites across the southern Levant, spanning the entire Holocene. We report the earliest evidence for extensive fish exploitation from the hypersaline Bardawil lagoon on Egypt's northern Sinai coast, as indicated by distinctively high δ
O
values, which became abundant in the southern Levant, both along the coast and further inland, at least from the Late Bronze Age (3,550-3,200 BP). A period of global, postglacial sea-level stabilization triggered the formation of the Bardawil lagoon, which was intensively exploited and supported a widespread fish trade. This represents the earliest roots of marine proto-aquaculture in Late Holocene coastal domains of the Mediterranean. We demonstrate the potential of large-scale δ
O
analysis of fish teeth to reveal cultural phenomena in antiquity, providing unprecedented insights into past trade patterns.
Remains of early architecture at the Epipaleolithic-Neolithic transition of the Near East are commonly evaluated by means of two criteria: structure size and permanent interior features or ...decorations. Less attention has been given to associated refuse, which could be the key for discerning the role of architectural space in the lives and minds of the last hunter-gatherers. We consider this dimension by modeling the deposition of animal remains in an Early Natufian (ca. 14,000 cal BP) architectural complex at the el-Wad Terrace (Mount Carmel, Israel). Contextual taphonomy shows that a sequence of structures was used for everyday living activities, including food preparation and consumption—probably at the household level—as well as bone working. Despite the relatively permanent habitation, reflected by repeatedly renovated stone architecture, a broad-spectrum economy, and the infliction of heavy habitation damage to in situ refuse, the inhabitants did not systematically engage in the clearing away of organic trash or otherwise marking out their domicile. The perception of the house was probably still “Paleolithic” and functional in character, highlighting the complex mosaic of old and new traits in the preagricultural communities of the Levant.
•Raqefet is a Late Natufian burial cave in the ‘core area’ of this culture.•Archaeofauna was found in direct association with human interments.•Taphonomy indicates the fauna is human food refuse, but ...not domestic trash.•Context points to the intentional deposition of the remains during funerary feasts.•Testifies to pre-agricultural communal activities and cultural complexity.
The archaeology of mortuary practices and related foodways in the Late Natufian (LN; ca. 14,000/13,500–11,700BP) sheds light on the communal activities of the last hunter–gatherers in the Mediterranean Levant. We present a detailed analysis of the fauna from the LN cemetery of Raqefet Cave (Mount Carmel, Israel). Taphonomic evidence indicates that the animal bones are butchery and consumption leftovers. While the patterns of animal exploitation are reminiscent of Natufian habitation sites, the remains do not reflect the typical recurring post-discard damage resulting from continuous or repeating habitations in those sites. Hence the fauna is interpreted as the leftovers of punctuated, short-term events, rather than ‘ordinary’ Natufian household trash. Taking into account the special depositional context and site characteristics, we interpret the fauna as the intentionally-gathered and buried remains of simple funerary feasts. Elaborate mortuary behavior and symbolic role of food refuse were recently suggested at the contemporaneous cave of Hilazon Tachtit (Israel). The new data from Raqefet Cave probably reflect a somewhat different type of communal meals, adding to the diversity and complexity of pre-agricultural life-ways in the Levant.
The faunal assemblage from the 9(th)-8(th) millennium BP site at Sha'ar Hagolan, Israel, is used to study human interaction with wild suids and cattle in a time period just before the appearance of ...domesticated animals of these species in the Jordan Valley. Our results, based on demographic and osteometric data, indicate that full domestication of both cattle and suids occurred at the site during the 8(th) millennium. Importantly, domestication was preceded in both taxa by demographic and metric population parameters indicating severe overhunting. The possible role of overhunting in shaping the characteristics of domesticated animals and the social infrastructure to ownership of herds is then explored.
The invention and development of next or second generation sequencing methods has resulted in a dramatic transformation of ancient DNA research and allowed shotgun sequencing of entire genomes from ...fossil specimens. However, although there are exceptions, most fossil specimens contain only low (~ 1% or less) percentages of endogenous DNA. The only skeletal element for which a systematically higher endogenous DNA content compared to other skeletal elements has been shown is the petrous part of the temporal bone. In this study we investigate whether (a) different parts of the petrous bone of archaeological human specimens give different percentages of endogenous DNA yields, (b) there are significant differences in average DNA read lengths, damage patterns and total DNA concentration, and (c) it is possible to obtain endogenous ancient DNA from petrous bones from hot environments. We carried out intra-petrous comparisons for ten petrous bones from specimens from Holocene archaeological contexts across Eurasia dated between 10,000-1,800 calibrated years before present (cal. BP). We obtained shotgun DNA sequences from three distinct areas within the petrous: a spongy part of trabecular bone (part A), the dense part of cortical bone encircling the osseous inner ear, or otic capsule (part B), and the dense part within the otic capsule (part C). Our results confirm that dense bone parts of the petrous bone can provide high endogenous aDNA yields and indicate that endogenous DNA fractions for part C can exceed those obtained for part B by up to 65-fold and those from part A by up to 177-fold, while total endogenous DNA concentrations are up to 126-fold and 109-fold higher for these comparisons. Our results also show that while endogenous yields from part C were lower than 1% for samples from hot (both arid and humid) parts, the DNA damage patterns indicate that at least some of the reads originate from ancient DNA molecules, potentially enabling ancient DNA analyses of samples from hot regions that are otherwise not amenable to ancient DNA analyses.
A key event in human evolution is the expansion of modern humans of African origin across Eurasia between 60 and 40 thousand years (kyr) before present (bp), replacing all other forms of hominins. ...Owing to the scarcity of human fossils from this period, these ancestors of all present-day non-African modern populations remain largely enigmatic. Here we describe a partial calvaria, recently discovered at Manot Cave (Western Galilee, Israel) and dated to 54.7 ± 5.5 kyr bp (arithmetic mean ± 2 standard deviations) by uranium-thorium dating, that sheds light on this crucial event. The overall shape and discrete morphological features of the Manot 1 calvaria demonstrate that this partial skull is unequivocally modern. It is similar in shape to recent African skulls as well as to European skulls from the Upper Palaeolithic period, but different from most other early anatomically modern humans in the Levant. This suggests that the Manot people could be closely related to the first modern humans who later successfully colonized Europe. Thus, the anatomical features used to support the 'assimilation model' in Europe might not have been inherited from European Neanderthals, but rather from earlier Levantine populations. Moreover, at present, Manot 1 is the only modern human specimen to provide evidence that during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic interface, both modern humans and Neanderthals contemporaneously inhabited the southern Levant, close in time to the likely interbreeding event with Neanderthals.
Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is today one of the most widespread domesticated species and is a main source of protein in the human diet. However, for thousands of years exploitation of chickens ...was confined to symbolic and social domains such as cockfighting. The question of when and where chickens were first used for economic purposes remains unresolved. The results of our faunal analysis demonstrate that the Hellenistic (fourth–second centuries B.C.E.) site of Maresha, Israel, is the earliest site known today where economic exploitation of chickens was widely practiced. We base our claim on the exceptionally high frequency of chicken bones at that site, the majority of which belong to adult individuals, and on the observed 2:1 ratio of female to male bones. These results are supported further by an extensive survey of faunal remains from 234 sites in the Southern Levant, spanning more than three millennia, which shows a sharp increase in the frequency of chicken during the Hellenistic period. We further argue that the earliest secure evidence for economic exploitation of chickens in Europe dates to the first century B.C.E. and therefore is predated by the finds in the Southern Levant by at least a century. We suggest that the gradual acclimatization of chickens in the Southern Levant and its gradual integration into the local economy, the latter fully accomplished in the Hellenistic period, was a crucial step in the adoption of this species in European husbandry some 100 y later.
The Transfiguration scene depicted in a Byzantine church at Shivta, Israel, is one of two figurative examples of the scene from the early Christian period. The use of Egyptian blue pigment in the ...wall painting was investigated with various analytical methods. Visible Induced Luminescence (VIL) imaging was used in-situ in order to map the distribution of the Egyptian blue pigment in the painting. The VIL imaging revealed surprising insights into the understanding of the iconography and the technology of this rare painting. Previously undetected elements of the painting include rays of light that were discovered emerging from the body of Christ and illuminating the other figures in the painting. Although this motif is an important part of the Transfiguration narrative and appears in most of its scenes depicted elsewhere, it had not been previously identified in this painting as it was undetectable by any other inspection technique. Another important result is the identification of Egyptian blue as a common blue pigment used at Shivta during the Byzantine period, when it is considered to be very rare.
Paleogenomics provides new ways to study the cultural history and genetic diversity of landrace fruit crops.Paleogenomics holds the potential to unlock valuable genetic insights from extinct or ...ancestral fruit-crop cultivars.This information enables the reconstruction of important chapters in plant domestication and can track their ways of dispersal, introgression, and potential adaptations.Case studies on grapevines, date palms, and tomatoes, presented in this review highlight the power of paleogenomics in revealing historical aspects.The examples discussed demonstrate the importance of legacy/heritage cultivars for enhancing food security and agricultural sustainability in different environmental conditions over time.
Abundant and plentiful fruit crops are threatened by the loss of diverse legacy cultivars which are being replaced by a limited set of high-yielding ones. This article delves into the potential of paleogenomics that utilizes ancient DNA analysis to revive lost diversity. By focusing on grapevines, date palms, and tomatoes, recent studies showcase the effectiveness of paleogenomic techniques in identifying and understanding genetic traits crucial for crop resilience, disease resistance, and nutritional value. The approach not only tracks landrace dispersal and introgression but also sheds light on domestication events. In the face of major future environmental challenges, integrating paleogenomics with modern breeding strategies emerges as a promising avenue to significantly bolster fruit crop sustainability.
Abundant and plentiful fruit crops are threatened by the loss of diverse legacy cultivars which are being replaced by a limited set of high-yielding ones. This article delves into the potential of paleogenomics that utilizes ancient DNA analysis to revive lost diversity. By focusing on grapevines, date palms, and tomatoes, recent studies showcase the effectiveness of paleogenomic techniques in identifying and understanding genetic traits crucial for crop resilience, disease resistance, and nutritional value. The approach not only tracks landrace dispersal and introgression but also sheds light on domestication events. In the face of major future environmental challenges, integrating paleogenomics with modern breeding strategies emerges as a promising avenue to significantly bolster fruit crop sustainability.
Continuous and intensive exploitation of wildlife resources by early agricultural societies had major ecological consequences in the ancient Near East. In particular, hunting strategies of ...post-Neolithic societies involving the mass killing of wild ungulates contributed to the eventual extirpation of a number of wild species. A remarkable deposit of bones of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutarosa) from fourth millennium BCE levels at Tell Kuran in northeastern Syria provides insight into the unsustainable hunting practices that disrupted gazelle migratory patterns and helped set the course for the virtual extinction of this species and possibly other steppe species in the Levant. The social context of mass kills conducted during periods when people relied primarily on domestic livestock for animal resources sets them apart from the more targeted and sustainable practices of earlier periods, when wild animals were the major or sole source of animal protein.
PDF
