A study by the University of Haifa reveals that early humans focused on a limited number of species and did not exploit all the animals in their environment. The findings provide a glimpse into hunting strategies and the interactions between humans and predators.
New findings from the Nesher Ramla site show that early humans did not exploit the diversity of animals in the environment, but focused on a limited number of species. The study provides new insights into early humans' hunting strategies and the interactions between them and the predators in their environment.
A new study conducted at the prehistoric site of Nesher Ramla, led by researchers from the University of Haifa, reveals how about 100 years ago, early humans operated alongside other predators in the area and how they combined different strategies to obtain food. "Our research findings provide a fascinating glimpse into the behavior and relationship of early humans with their environment," said Prof. Reuven Yeshurun from the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa, one of the authors of the study.
The site, located near the city of Ramla, was excavated in 2010–2011 by Prof. Yossi Seidner of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa. The excavation revealed a large natural depression with eight meters thick archaeological layers, dating to the Middle Paleolithic period. In the lower layers, evidence was found of hunting camps that were used to process large animals such as wild cattle. Among the finds were bones with numerous cutting and breaking marks, burn marks, flint tools used to process meat and hides, and remains of fires. In contrast, in the upper layers, bones of a wider variety of animals were discovered, some intact and sometimes even in their original anatomical position, with very little evidence of human intervention.
This finding posed an intriguing question to the researchers: How did these animals die, and if they were not routinely hunted, why were they found at the site? In the new study, published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, doctoral student Meir Orbach and Prof. Reuven Yeshurun from the Zinman Institute and the School of Archaeology and Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa, together with Prof. Yossi Seidner from the Hebrew University, Prof. Gideon Hartman and Chen Zeigen from the University of Connecticut, and Prof. Florent Revels from the Catalan Institute for the Study of Ancient Ecology and Cultural Evolution, sought to examine the identification of animal species, the types of damage caused to the bones as a result of various processes, and the physical damage and chemical composition of the teeth of herbivores in order to understand their diet and the trajectory of their movement in space.
The results of the study indicate that bones of a wide variety of animals were found, including herbivores such as the Eretz Israel deer, the wild horse and the extinct European wild ass, alongside red deer, Carmel deer and the Persian ass from among the herbivores. In addition, an extinct species of rhinoceros, wild cattle (the ancestor of the domesticated cattle known today), wild goats, wild boars and even ostriches were found at the site. The study also found that in certain seasons the site served as a temporary water reservoir, to which animals from various regions came – from the Samaria mountains, the eastern Shephelah and the coastal plain.
Microscopic analysis of the bones showed that many of them had been chewed by predators such as hyenas and lions, and a few had been dismembered by humans. Some of the bones were even found completely intact. "This is not a site of early man's residence, but rather a concentration of animals that died under various circumstances, presumably after coming to drink from the water hole. Some were hunted by early man and some by early predators such as hyenas and lions who ambushed them, and some apparently fell or drowned. The human hunters and predators took advantage of the animals' arrival to hunt from the ambush and may even have used the carcasses of animals that died under natural circumstances," explained doctoral student Meir Auerbach.
"The prehistoric site of Nesher Ramla opens a window into understanding the behavior of early man, the ancient landscape of the coastal plain, and the herds of animals that roamed it. It seems that there was a variety of animals available for hunting in the area, but at similar sites from the same period where human presence was found, wild cattle were mainly hunted. Man exploited his environment in different ways, sometimes hunting randomly as shown in this study and sometimes hunting selectively as shown by other sites from the period, and even the lower layers at the Nesher Ramla site itself," the researchers concluded.
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.
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