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Re–evaluating Subsistence Skills of Levantine Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Hunters: A Comparison of the Faunal Assemblages
Author(s) -
Kaufman Daniel
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0092.00159
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , period (music) , archaeology , geography , faunal assemblage , fauna , ecology , biology , agriculture , art , aesthetics
It has long been argued that there were qualitative differences in the procurement strategies of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, with the hominids of the earlier period being less capable and efficient hunters than those of the subsequent period. This hypothesis is tested here through an examination of faunal assemblages from the two periods in the Levant by comparing measures of species diversity. It is concluded that no significant differences in hunting can be documented and that the hominids of both periods can be characterized as efficient foragers.