Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
PLoS One. 2021 Feb 25;16(2):e0247283. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247283. eCollection 2021.
During the Natufian period, more than 12,000 years ago, Eynan (Ain Mallaha) was an important human settlement in the Hula Valley, Israel. This study concentrates on the anuran and squamate assemblage from the ultimate stage of the Natufian period at the site, the Final Natufian. Over five thousand bones assigned to at least sixteen taxa were studied from a sampled segment of the excavated open-air site. Relative species abundance, spatial distribution, taphonomic observations and ecological considerations all pointed to the conclusion that the inhabitants of Eynan intensively exploited three large "colubrine" snakes species: the Large Whip Snake (Dolichophis jugularis), the Eastern Montpellier Snake (Malpolon insignitus) and an Eastern Four-lined Ratsnake (Elaphe cf. sauromates). These snakes were the most desired and were intensively gathered, while other snakes and lizards could have been opportunistically collected when encountered. We raise questions about whether the large "colubrines" exploitation should be interpreted as additional evidence of increasing diet breadth. We suggest challenging this line of reasoning and offer possible alternative motives.
在 12000 多年前的纳图夫人时期，埃楠（艾因马拉哈）是以色列胡拉谷的一个重要人类聚居地。本研究集中于该遗址纳图夫人末期（即最终纳图夫人时期）的蛙类和蜥蜴类组合。从已挖掘的露天遗址的一个抽样段中，研究了至少 16 个分类单元的五千多块骨头。相对物种丰度、空间分布、埋藏学观察和生态考虑都表明，埃楠的居民大量利用了三种大型“游蛇”物种：大鞭蛇（Dolichophis jugularis）、东方蒙彼利埃蛇（Malpolon insignitus）和东方四线鼠蛇（Elaphe cf. sauromates）。这些蛇是最受欢迎的，被大量采集，而其他蛇和蜥蜴则可能是偶然遇到的。我们提出了一些问题，即是否应该将大型“游蛇”的利用解释为饮食范围不断扩大的额外证据。我们建议挑战这种推理思路，并提供可能的替代动机。
