Middle Paleolithic Behavioral Organization: 1993 Excavation of Tor Faraj, Southern Jordan

Henry, Donald O.; Hall, Stephen; Hietala, Harold J.; Demidenko, Yuri E.; Usik, Vitaly I.; Rosen, Aaron; Thomas, Patricia A.

doi:10.2307/530607

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Macrobotanical remains in the forms of charred seeds have been found in the Mousterian levels of Kebara in Israel (Lev et al, ) and Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar (Barton et al, ). Phytoliths from edible plants have been recovered from sediments in several Near Eastern Neanderthal sites (Henry et al, ; Albert et al, ; Madella et al, ; Rosen, ). More direct evidence for Neanderthal use of plants comes from studies of residues on stone tools (Hardy, ; Hardy and Moncel, ; Hardy et al, ) and dental calculus (Hardy et al, ).…”

Section: Plant Microremainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

Fiorenza

Benazzi

Henry

et al. 2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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Neanderthals have been commonly depicted as top predators who met their nutritional needs by focusing entirely on meat. This information mostly derives from faunal assemblage analyses and stable isotope studies: methods that tend to underestimate plant consumption and overestimate the intake of animal proteins. Several studies in fact demonstrate that there is a physiological limit to the amount of animal proteins that can be consumed: exceeding these values causes protein toxicity that can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and newborns. Consequently, to avoid food poisoning from meat-based diets, Neanderthals must have incorporated alternative food sources in their daily diets, including plant materials as well. In this manuscript, we review traditional as well as more recent approaches for reconstructing the diet in past human populations, and we show how new archaeological discoveries and innovative methods are changing our views of Neanderthal ecology and behavior. We further underline the importance of reconstructing Neanderthal environments derived from palaeoecological data to better understand and interpret the dietary evidence obtained by these methods. Finally, since the intake of specific foods can be invisible to certain techniques and detect by others, we suggest using a more holistic approach by integrating the findings of more than one method. Such comprehensive analyses would enable the reconstruction of the whole dietary spectrum, which is particularly important for species like Neanderthal, who lived under severe and unstable climatic conditions. Neanderthals are undoubtedly the most studied and best-known group in the human fossil record. Despite that, for more than 100 years since their discovery, research on Neanderthal ecology, subsistence strategies, and diet have received remarkably little attention (Ready, 2010). It is only with the emergence of new archeological disciplines and development of innovative analytical approaches in the 1960s, that scholars began to look at Neanderthal behavior and adaptations to their environment. Methods such as faunal analysis, lithic technology, and taphonomic studies progressively led to a general portrait that defined Neanderthals as a homogenous group, with similar nutritional needs typified by a reliance on the consumption of terrestrial animals. This idea was reinforced by the study of stable isotopes and Neanderthal anatomy. The general robusticity of Neanderthal skeletons, with relatively short limbs and heavy trunks, has been interpreted as adaptation to cold stress environments that follow the ecogeographic principles of Bergmann's and Allen's rules (e.g., Trinkaus,

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Section: Plant Microremainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

Fiorenza

Benazzi

Henry

et al. 2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…Middle Palaeolithic assemblages which have a relatively high laminar index, for instance Tor Faraj (Henry et al 1996) and Amud B1 (Hovers 1998), as these blade technologies are not the same in their production details as those of Hayonim lower level E. Thus, unless the continuous practice of a specific blade production can be traced chronologically between the blade industries of the early Middle Palaeolithic and those of the early Upper Palaeolithic in the Levant, examples such as lower level E of Hayonim Cave (Meignen 1998) or Rosh Ein Mor (Marks 1992) will have little significance as behavioural antecedents to the Upper Palaeolithic.…”

Section: Comparison Of the Terminal Middle Palaeolithic And Early Uppmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Quest for Antecedents:

Tostevin¹

2017

More Than Meets the Eye

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“…With a smaller used area than at Abric Romaní, a similar phenomenon can be observed at Tor Faraj, in southern Jordan. In this site, two levels with the same spatial patterns are interpreted as the recurrence of human groups with redundant occupational behaviour (Henry et al, 1996(Henry et al, , 2004.…”

Section: -Spatial Distribution Of Remainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A stop along the way: the role of Neanderthal groups at level III of Teixoneres Cave (Moià, Barcelona, Spain)

Ardèvol¹,

Blasco²,

Rivals³

et al. 2010

quaternaire

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Level III of Teixoneres Cave (Moià, Barcelona, Spain) has provided a significant record belonging to the first half of the Late Pleistocene. It corresponds to both human and carnivorous activities. This assemblage is analyzed through an interdisciplinary approach with the objective to discriminate the remains left by these actors and to evaluate the degree of interaction existing between them. The data indicate hunting activities by hominids as well as by carnivores and a minimal relationship or temporal contact between them inside the cave. This allows the characterization of the human occupations at level III in relation to the composition of the groups and their high mobility in the territory.

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Middle Paleolithic Behavioral Organization: 1993 Excavation of Tor Faraj, Southern Jordan

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

To meat or not to meat? New perspectives onNeanderthal ecology

A Quest for Antecedents:

A stop along the way: the role of Neanderthal groups at level III of Teixoneres Cave (Moià, Barcelona, Spain)

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