Squamate bone taphonomy: A new experimental framework and its application to the Natufian zooarchaeological record

Squamate (lizard and snake) remains are abundant in the terminal Pleistocene Natufian archaeological sites of the Levant, raising the question of whether they constitute part of the broad-spectrum diet characteristic of this period. However, the role of squamates in Natufian diets remains unclear, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2020-06, Vol.10 (1), p.9373-9373, Article 9373
Main Authors: Lev, Ma‘ayan, Weinstein-Evron, Mina, Yeshurun, Reuven
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/158/2462
631/181/27
Animals
Archaeological sites
Archaeology
Archaeology - methods
Bone and Bones - physiology
Bones
Culture
Diet
Eating - ethnology
Ecosystem
Experiments
Fossils
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Israel - ethnology
Lizards
multidisciplinary
Paleontology - methods
Pleistocene
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Snakes
Spine
Taphonomy
Temperature
Terraces
Trampling
Typology
Vertebrae
Zoology - methods
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Summary:Squamate (lizard and snake) remains are abundant in the terminal Pleistocene Natufian archaeological sites of the Levant, raising the question of whether they constitute part of the broad-spectrum diet characteristic of this period. However, the role of squamates in Natufian diets remains unclear, as they are taphonomically under-studied. We conducted a series of experiments and actualistic observations that tested the impact of pre- and post-depositional processes on squamate vertebrae. We emphasized the multiple destruction processes that leave overlapping or altered marks on the bones, such as digestion marks that were modified by trampling. The resulting bone modification typology provides a tool for studying archaeological squamate remains. The experimental data were compared to the archaeological bone samples of the Natufian sequence of el-Wad Terrace (Mount Carmel, Israel, 15,000–12,000 cal BP). The Natufian squamate samples deviate from all actualistic ones in their lesser evidence of digestion and much greater indications for trampling, erosion and breakage. The taphonomic study, coupled with intra-site analysis, has unraveled the complex depositional history of el-Wad Terrace, enabling us to differentiate between cultural and non-cultural contexts and to identify possible human consumption of the European glass lizard and the large whip snake in the Natufian.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-020-66301-5