Fig 1.
Map of Israel, location of the Ohalo II site, and the excavated loci from which fish remains were examined for this study.
Table 1.
List of Lake Kinneret and Jordan Rift valley fish, their maximum total length (TL†), presence at Ohalo II, season of breeding (winter in green and spring-summer in red), and breeding area [49, 52, 53, 83].
Table 2.
Ohalo II fish remains taxonomic composition, species richness and diversity, by studied loci (taxonomic abundance (%) is calculated according to the different taxonomic levels: Family, genus and species, and therefore the total NISP varies).
Fig 2.
Rarefaction curves for species richness, as a function of NISP, according to the studied loci.
Table 3.
Total NISP and relative abundance calculated for fish recovered at Ohalo-II, according to the four taxonomic groups* and loci.
Table 4.
Number of skeletal elements identified at Ohalo II, according to the studied loci and taxonomic group.
Fig 3.
Cranial vs. postcranial fish remains from Ohalo II, according to taxonomic group and studied loci (fish skeleton modified from [107]).
Table 5.
Frequency (NISP) and percentage of skeletal elements recovered at Ohalo II, according to anatomical regions, studied loci, and taxonomic group.
Table 6.
Frequency (NISP), percentage, and survival index (SI) calculated for cranial and postcranial bones, according to the studied loci at Ohalo II.
Fig 4.
State of bone preservation at Ohalo II, according to studied loci (chi squared test = 944.133; p = 0.0001; df = 6).
Table 7.
Frequency (NISP) of colors and signs of burning recorded on fish remains from Ohalo II, according to the studied loci.
Fig 5.
A. Fish remains spatial distribution pattern in Loci 1 (floors I and II combined) and 7 (in Locus 1 areas with a large concentration of edible grains from floor II are marked, after [40]; B. In-situ fish skeletons recovered at Locus 7.
Table 8.
Comparison between diagnostic criteria of naturally accumulated fish remains vs. fish remains recovered at Ohalo II (OH), according to the studied loci (loci 1, 3, 7, 8).
Fig 6.
Correspondence analysis of taxonomic groups’ relative abundance (%) in the natural accumulation and at Loci 1, 3, 7, and 8.
Table 9.
Characteristics of traditional fishing camps based on ethnographic data, compared to Ohalo II characteristics (following [42, 73, 120, 122–125].