Large Predator Hunting and Its Interpretation: Leopards, Bears and Lions in the Archaeological Record of the Southern Levant

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the occurrence of lions, bears and leopards in south Levantine archaeological assemblages between the last glacial maximum (c. 25,000 years ago) and the Iron Age (c. 2500 years ago). We argue that the occurrence of these large carnivores constitutes a significant long-term cultural feature that begins with the first settled hunter-gatherer communities of the Natufian culture. Importantly, we show that carnivoran species representation in the archaeological record shifts through time, with leopards common during the Neolithic and lions and bears during the Bronze and Iron ages. These shifts, we suggest, are best understood as reflecting the interplay between costly signalling and symbolism as they interacted through processes of increasing socio-political complexity.

First direct evidence of lion hunting and the early use of a lion pelt by Neanderthals

“…As for the Maasai lion hunting, the risks of failure are compensated by the social status achieved 93 . Costly signaling can explain some of the evidence of lion exploitation in the archaeological record (e.g., 94 ), and it should not be ruled out also in the case of the lion from Siegsdorf. However, considering that hunting and gathering is in part opportunistic, the most parsimonious explanation is that the Siegsdorf P. spelaea specimen was killed opportunistically and butchered for consumption by Neanderthals.…”

The Culture-Related Development of Architecture in the Neolithic Period

“…The confrontations with wild animals could occur more often at the end of the Pleistocene, indicating the end of the last long glacial period and the beginning of the Neolithic due to the expansion of human settlements. Due to the development of warfare as well as tools allowing more efficient hunting and protection, the more widespread knowledge of their behaviors resulted in hunting them due to other more symbolic reasons than protection, as in the case of lions, leopards, and bears in the Near East (Schimelmitz et al, 2022), the real threat from predators (Tab. 4.)…”