Table 1.
Expected faunal signatures for Optimal Foraging Theory and Niche Construction Theory.
Fig 1.
Map with location of southern Levantine Epipaleolithic sites mentioned in the text (a), plan of Ohalo II (b) and plan of Brush Hut 1 (c). Early Epipaleolithic sites are marked with red circles, Middle Epipaleolithic with black squares and Late Epipaleolithic with blue triangles.
Table 2.
Body Size Group (BSG) classification used in this study.
Table 3.
Identified faunal taxa, Brush Hut 1 (NISP).
Fig 2.
NISP/MNE ratios from Brush Hut 1, by floor.
1 = Gazelle/BSGD, 2 = Fallow Deer/BSGB, 3 = Fox, 4 = Hare, 5 = BSGE, 6 = Tortoise. The higher the ratio, the more fragmented the assemblage.
Table 4.
MNI and MNE counts of identified taxa (excluding birds) from Brush Hut 1.
Table 5.
Small game/ungulate index from Brush Hut 1.
Table 6.
Diversity indices from Brush Hut 1, by floors.
Fig 3.
Identified skeletal elements of gazelle and BSGD by anatomical region in Brush Hut 1.
Fig 4.
Identified skeletal elements of fallow deer and BSGB by anatomical region in Brush Hut 1.
Fig 5.
Examples of cut marks on BSGB and BSGD ungulate bones from Brush Hut 1.
A: Tibia shaft, BSGB (Sp. 8176) B: Rib shaft, BSGB (Sp. 8162) C: Rib shaft, BSGD (Sp. 9402) D: Rib shaft, BSGD (Sp. 10047).
Fig 6.
All identified elements of birds in Brush Hut 1, %NISP, by family groups.
Waterfowl include Podicepididae, Anatidae, Laridae and Rallidae; Birds of prey include Falconidae and Accipitridae; ground-feeders include Phasianidae. Passeriformes are identified to order only. Vert = Vertebrae, C/MTC = Carpometacarpus, T/MTT = Tarsometatarsus, PH = phalanges.
Fig 7.
Mean size groups for tortoise plastron and carapace fragments from Brush Hut 1, all floors.
Most tortoise shell pieces fall between 1.0–1.5 cm.
Fig 8.
Bivariate plot of the average numbers of pits and scratches for the ungulates from floor III of Brush Hut 1 (in black) and their extant relatives (in blue; from [93]).
Error bars correspond to standard error of the mean (±1 SEM) for each sample. Plain ellipses correspond to the Gaussian confidence ellipses (p = 0.95) on the centroid for the extant leaf browsers and grazers based on the reference database from [75].
Table 7.
Summary of the mesowear and microwear data for the ungulates from floor III of Brush Hut 1.
Fig 9.
Bivariate plot of the standard deviations (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV) values of microwear data used for the classification of samples into short events (region A), long-term events (region B) or two separate short events (region C), and the boundary lines and error probability between these regions.
The black dots indicate the position of the gazelle and fallow deer samples from Floor III in Brush Hut 1.
Fig 10.
Range of splitting factors for bone samples (n = 65) from floors II and III of Brush Hut 1.
Color codes: 1- Orange, 2- Brown, 3- Dark brown, 4- Black, 5- Grey, 6- White. Colors were determined with the Munsell soil color chart [87], as follows: brown (strong brown/brown, 7.5YR 4/2, 4, 6), dark brown (dark brown, 7.5YR 3/2, 4), orange (reddish yellow, 7.5 YR 6/6, 8), black (black, 2, 3/0), grey (light grey/grey, 7.5 YR 4, 5, 6, 7/0), and white (7.5YR, 8/0).
Fig 11.
Example of infrared spectrum for grey (top) and white (bottom) bone from Brush Hut 1. The 604/565 peaks, which indicate SF and crystallinity, are clearly separated, and deeply split. The extra peak at ~633 is a reliable indicator of calcined bone [94], as is the absence of carbonate peaks at ~1458/1419. The other additional peak at ~1091 indicates highly crystalline bone apatite. The collagen peaks are absent.
Fig 12.
Spatial distribution of all mammalian fauna (top) and Testudines (bottom) on Floors III and II of Brush Hut 1. The sum of faunal remains per square is divided by volume of excavated sediment to resolve variation in excavation depths between squares. Hearth area on Floor III marked with red square; grinding stone on Floor II marked with red oval.
Fig 13.
Mean humeral breadth of tortoises from Levantine sites from the middle Paleolithic through the end of the Epipaleolithic period.
MP = Middle Paleolithic, UP = Upper Paleolithic, E-EPI = Early Epipaleolithic, M-EPI = Middle Epipaleolithic, L-EPI = Late Epipaleolithic. Measurements taken from medio-lateral breadth of humerus shaft at its narrowest point. Data for Hayonim Cave (HC) MP and UP from [15]; Hilazon Tachtit (HLT; n = 17) and L-EPI HC (n = 191) from [106]; Kerak Plateau sites (KPS 75; n = 10), Meged (n = 58), Nahal Hadera V (NH; n = 51), E-EPI HC (n = 63) from [105]. E-EPI OH II (n = 21). See Ohalo II Brush Hut 1 measurements in S10 Table in S1 File.
Table 8.
Early Epipaleolithic sites and the percentage of ungulates and small game within their faunal assemblages.