Not just meat and plants: The surprising food that was a central part of the diet of Carmel residents
A study by the University of Haifa reveals that members of the Natufian culture on Mount Carmel systematically ate snakes and lizards. Cut marks found on reptile vertebrae prove that this was not incidental food.
Members of the Natufian culture who lived in the Carmel region about 15,000 years ago systematically ate snakes and lizards for about 3,000 years — this is according to a new study by the University of Haifa, published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The researchers identified, among other things, cut marks on the vertebrae of large snakes, which indicate that the reptiles were prepared for consumption by humans. It was also found that the consumption of reptiles was higher during periods when life at the site was more permanent and intensive, and decreased during periods when the stay at the site was short and seasonal.
"The transition to sedentary life involved a longer reliance on food sources in the immediate environment. The fact that snakes and lizards were utilized for thousands of years teaches that this was not marginal or incidental food, but part of a subsistence strategy adapted to longer life in one place," explained Dr. Maayan Lev, from the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa and the Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology at the University of Kiel in Germany, who led the study.
The transition from nomadism to sedentary life
About 15,000 years ago, a gradual process began in the Levant region in which communities of hunter-gatherers moved from a mobile lifestyle to a more permanent one. Members of the Natufian culture gradually reduced their wanderings, built residential structures, and expanded the variety of food sources they utilized in their environment.
This period is considered a significant stage in the development of human settlement, even before the appearance of agriculture. With the transition to a longer stay in the same place, the communities were required to rely more heavily on local resources.
In the study, Dr. Lev, Prof. Mina Weinstein-Evron, and Prof. Reuven Yeshurun, from the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures and the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, sought to check whether snakes and lizards were part of the Natufian diet throughout the thousands of years of settlement, which species were chosen for food, and whether their consumption changed according to the degree of permanence of life at the site.
The study was conducted as part of a project led by Prof. Yeshurun, funded by the Israel Science Foundation, which deals with the beginning of sedentary life in human history.
Thousands of bones from 20 archaeological layers
The researchers analyzed and documented thousands of reptile bones found during excavations in 20 archaeological layers at the Nahal Cave terrace in the Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve on Mount Carmel, which is managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The layers document Natufian settlement at the site from about 15,000 to about 12,000 years ago.
Using microscopic examination, cut marks, burning, digestion, and trampling marks were examined on the bones. The purpose of the examination was to distinguish between reptiles that were caught and used for food and those that were preyed upon by animals or died at the site naturally.
The researchers also compared the different stages of settlement, examined possible changes in environmental conditions, and compared the findings to reptile findings from Natufian sites and earlier sites in the region.
To understand why certain species were preferred over others, the feasibility of hunting each species was also examined — according to its body size, speed and agility, the risk involved in catching it, its accessibility, and its activity hours.
82 vertebrae bore cut marks
One of the key findings in the study was the identification of cut marks on 82 vertebrae of large snakes. The marks appeared in the same area on the vertebrae, and some of them contained several cut marks — a finding that, according to the researchers, indicates a repeated and systematic action of preparing the snakes for food.
Many remains of snakes and lizards were found in all 20 layers examined, which indicates that their consumption continued throughout the thousands of years of settlement at the site.
Three large species were the most common among the reptile remains found: the European glass lizard, the black whip snake, and the Montpellier snake.
It was also found that the rate of reptiles that were apparently used for food was higher during periods when settlement at the site was permanent and intensive, and lower during periods when the Natufians stayed at the site for short and seasonal periods.
Not every snake entered the menu
The study also indicates that the Natufians did not hunt reptiles randomly, but preferred over time species that provided a good ratio between the amount of food that could be obtained from them and the effort and risk involved in catching them.
The European glass lizard, for example, is a relatively large animal, slow, and non-venomous — and therefore it was profitable and relatively safe to catch. In contrast, the viper, which is more dangerous to hunt, was found in low proportions.
"The study shows us for the first time that at the beginning of sedentary life, snakes and lizards were a stable and reliable food source for ancient humans," the researchers concluded. "The fact that they returned and chose the same species again and again teaches that the Natufians did not eat every reptile that crossed their path, but conducted selective hunting over thousands of years. This testifies to their deep familiarity with the animals and the resources that the environment offered them."
