Hunting and trapping strategies in the coastal mountains of northern Lebanon during the Epipalaeolithic. (2nd September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Edwards, Yvonne; Garrard, Andrew; Yazbeck, Corine
• Is Part Of: Levant. Volume 49:Number 3(2017)
• Page Start: 237
• Page End: 258
• Publication Date: 2017-09-02
• Subjects: hunting strategies -- Moghr el-Ahwal -- Lebanon -- Levant -- Epipalaeolithic -- Natufian; Middle East -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; Middle East -- History -- Periodicals; Middle East -- Civilization -- To 622 -- Periodicals; 939.4
• DOI: 10.1080/00758914.2017.1408217
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0075-8914

Abstract

Abstract : Relative to other regions of the Levant, our knowledge of the adaptations of Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherers to the late Pleistocene environments of the coastal mountains of the central and northern Levant are extremely limited. However, recently excavations at two adjacent caves at Moghr el-Ahwal in the Qadisha Valley of northern Lebanon have provided a rich record, particularly of hunting and trapping strategies from the period following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) until the Bølling/Allerød interstadial. The dominant prey species, which varied in proportions through time, included: wild goat; roe, red and fallow deer; as well as fox, hare, squirrel and partridge. These document the exploitation of a wide spectrum of habitats, and demonstrate the expansion of forest cover through this period. Comparisons are made with food procurement strategies through the Epipalaeolithic in the wider region.