Neanderthals occupying the Amud Cave in what is today northern Israel showed exploitation of different hunting territories depending upon the climate in which they lived, suggests researchers in a recent study.
Gideon Hartman of the University of Connecticut and colleagues from an international group of universities and research institutions came to this conclusion by reconstructing the hunting ranges of Neanderthals who occupied the cave at two distinct Ice Age occupational phases separated by about 10,000 years. The first phase occurred during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 (71,000 – 129,000 years ago), and the second occurred during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (57,000 – 70,000 years ago). They analyzed the comparison of oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotope samples from the tooth enamel of excavated gazelle remains with modern isotope data from the Amud Cave region.
____________________________________
A view of Amud Cave from below. Wikimedia Commons
____________________________________
What they found was that the Neanderthals had restricted their gazelle hunting to the higher elevations west of the cave during the earlier occupation phase, but became more diverse in their hunting ranges during the later occupation phase, with an emphasis on the lower elevations closer to the cave site. The researchers suggest the possibility that drier conditions during the earlier phase (MIS 4) may have forced the gazelle populations to forage in the higher elevations where food sources were more plentiful.
“This study showed that Neanderthals adjusted their hunting territories considerably in relation to varying environmental conditions over the course of occupation in Amud Cave,” stated Hartman, et al., in the study abstract.*
Amud Cave overlooks the Wadi el ‘Amud (a dry river gorge) northwest of the Sea of Galilee in present-day Israel. It is best known for its Neanderthal remains, including the ‘Amud 1’ adult male skeleton, which features a large cranial capacity and other characteristics similar to that of the famous Neanderthal remains discovered in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. Also found within the cave was the partial skeleton of an 8-to-10-month-old Neanderthal baby with a maxilla bone of a red deer situated above the baby’s pelvis. Archaeologists suggest the possibility that the maxilla had been purposely placed over the baby’s remains as a burial rite.
This study has been published online ‘in press’ in the Journal of Human Evolution.
______________________________________________________
*Gideon Hartman, et al., Isotopic evidence for Last Glacial climatic impacts on Neanderthal gazelle hunting territories at Amud Cave, Israel, Journal of Human Evolution, 7 May 2015 doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.008
______________________________________________________
Did you like this? Read more articles like this with a premium subscription to Popular Archaeology Magazine.
In addition, the latest Popular Archaeology ebook is now available.
______________________________________________
Travel and learn with Far Horizons.
____________________________________________
Popular Archaeology’s annual Discovery Edition eBook is a selection of the best stories published in Popular Archaeology Magazine in past issues, with an emphasis on some of the most significant, groundbreaking, or fascinating discoveries in the fields of archaeology and paleoanthropology and related fields. At least some of the articles have been updated or revised specifically for the Discovery edition. We can confidently say that there is no other single issue of an archaeology-related magazine, paper print or online, that contains as much major feature article content as this one. The latest issue, volume 2, has just been released. Go to the Discovery edition page for more information.
____________________________________________
