Animal procurement and processing during the pre-Natufian Epipalaeolithic of the Southern Levant : zooarchaeological and ethnographic implications of meat and nutrient storage and social organization
This present research considers a time period preceding the emergence of agriculture and domestication with a major focus on animal bone assemblages. The aim is to explore and understand variability in hunterâgatherer's subsistence strategies including procurement and processing together with a particular focus on storage of animal resources. The majority of researchers follow a linear evolutionary model suggesting that human societies evolved via a natural progression from 'simple' forms of mobile hunterâgatherers into 'complex' forms of sedentary farmers. Storage of plant and animal resources is regarded as one progressive step on this ladder although research focussed on this activity among preâNatufian hunterâgatherers has been largely neglected. This thesis challenges these assumptions, suggesting an alternative explanatory framework in which subsistence strategies are shown to be adaptations to specifiable ecological conditions that vary temporally and spatially. A review of the Southern Levantine subsistence evidence suggests that discontinuity in material culture and subsistence strategies mainly relates to the diverse environmental settings occupied by people during the Epipaleolithic. In
Spyrou, A.
Animal procurement and processing during the pre-Natufian Epipalaeolithic of the Southern Levant : zooarchaeological and ethnographic implications of meat and nutrient storage and social organization. This present research considers a time period preceding the emergence of agriculture and domestication with a major focus on animal bone assemblages. The aim is to explore and understand variability in hunterâgatherer's subsistence strategies including procurement and processing together with a particular focus on storage of animal resources. The majority of researchers follow a linear evolutionary model suggesting that human societies evolved via a natural progression from 'simple' forms of mobile hunterâgatherers into 'complex' forms of sedentary farmers. Storage of plant and animal resources is regarded as one progressive step on this ladder although research focussed on this activity among preâNatufian hunterâgatherers has been largely neglected. This thesis challenges these assumptions, suggesting an alternative explanatory framework in which subsistence strategies are shown to be adaptations to specifiable ecological conditions that vary temporally and spatially. A review of the Southern Levantine subsistence evidence suggests that discontinuity in material culture and subsistence strategies mainly relates to the diverse environmental settings occupied by people during the Epipaleolithic. In
animal procurement process pre epipalaeolithic southern_levant zooarchaeological ethnographic implication meat nutrient storage social_organization present considers time_period precede emergence agriculture domestication major focus animal_bone assemblage aim_explore variability hunter_gatherer subsistence_strategy include procurement processing together particular_focus storage animal resource majority researcher follow linear evolutionary_model suggest human_society evolve via natural progression simple form mobile hunter_gatherer complex form sedentary farmer storage plant_animal resource regard progressive step although focussed activity_among pre hunter_gatherer largely_neglect challenge_assumption suggest_alternative explanatory_framework subsistence_strategy show adaptation ecological condition vary temporally spatially review southern_levantine subsistence evidence_suggest discontinuity material_culture subsistence_strategy mainly relate diverse environmental_setting occupy people