Big-game hunting during the late Middle Paleolithic in the Levant: Insights into technology and behavior from Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet, Upper Jordan River, israel

Abstract

Examination of the complete assemblage of pointed artefacts from the short-term kill-butchering site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Upper Jordan River, enabled the first holistic reconstruction of big-game procurement during the Late Middle Paleolithic in the Levant. The detailed analysis of diagnostic impact fractures (DIF) observed on the artefacts, in conjunction with their morpho-metric characteristics, indicates a predominant use of low velocity weapons such as thrusting and throwing spears (javelins). Reconstruction of NMO hunting techniques was based upon these results in combination with the site landscape features, faunal remains, and ethnographic record. The particularities of spear use recorded for modern hunter-gatherers may explain the relatively low frequency of DIF observed on pointed artefacts from the NMO assemblage and shed light on their techno-typological diversity. The study exemplifies the advantage of combined analysis of projectile damage and morpho-metric characteristics of the points.