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Middle Paleolithic Prey Choice Inferred from a Natural Pitfall Trap: Rantis Cave, Israel

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Book cover Zooarchaeology and Modern Human Origins

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

The problem of human prey selection versus natural availability of game is, often implicitly, one of the most fundamental questions in zooarchaeology. Deciphering this issue requires data on the natural availability of game, yet such data cannot come from anthropogenic (zooarchaeological) collections. Here I use a natural pitfall trap unbiased by human predation (Rantis Cave, Israel), capturing ungulates in the latter half of the Middle Paleolithic (MP), as a ‘natural reference’ to the archaeological faunas of the same region and period. The ensuing comparison with the human prey suggests that Southern Levantine MP hunters generally preferred to procure mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella) over Mesopotamian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica). If this interpretation is accepted, a possible explanation may be linked to changes in the hunting gear of MP populations.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Jamie Clark and John Speth for organizing the ICAZ session (Paris, 2010) where this paper was presented, and for inviting me to contribute to this volume. I owe gratitude to the research team working on Rantis Cave, whose members contributed to the ideas expressed here and made this study possible: Ofer Marder and Ronit Lupu (direction of excavation), Guy Bar-Oz and Miriam Belmaker (collaboration on studying the faunal remains) and Amos Frumkin, Naomi Porat and Hagai Ron (geology and dating). Additionally I thank Guy Bar-Oz, Erella Hovers, Daniel Kaufman, Ofer Marder, Ron Shimelmitz, Mina Weinstein-Evron and two anonymous referees for improving previous drafts of this paper. The Rantis Cave excavation and analysis of finds were undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and financed by the Israel Ministry of Defense.

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  1. Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905, Haifa, Israel

    Reuven Yeshurun

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  1. Reuven Yeshurun
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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Arkansas, USA

    Jamie L. Clark

  2. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    John D. Speth

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Yeshurun, R. (2013). Middle Paleolithic Prey Choice Inferred from a Natural Pitfall Trap: Rantis Cave, Israel. In: Clark, J., Speth, J. (eds) Zooarchaeology and Modern Human Origins. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6766-9_4

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