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The faunal remains from the "PPNB" site of Wadi Tbeik (southern Sinai) provide evidence for the
presence of a nomadic society with a seasonal pattern of habitation, practicing a mode of hunting
control. The most abundant animal was Lepus cupensis. Ibex (Capra ibex nubiana) and gazelle
(Gazella sp.) were exploited as the primary meat source. Equids...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... the larger mammals in Wadi Tbeik Capra ibex is the dominant animal (Table 1). Phalanges (Fig. 6) significantly outnumber all other skeletal elements (about 55 mesurable specimens). Skull elements are rare and horn-cores and vertebrae are completely absent. Comparison of the total length of the first phalanx between several recent localities and three PPNB sites has shown ( Table 2) that no significant changes in body size have ...
Context 2
... The site of Wadi Tbeik was fully excavated and the total bulk of material was carefully sieved, b) The bones (particularly of the larger species) were preserved in very fra gme nt a ry condition and rarely (Fig. 6) in articulation, c) Almost no cranial material and horn cores, nor vertebrae and pelves were found. These bones frequencies are interpreted as the result of two processes : selective preservation and selection of body parts brought to camp. It might mean that large quantities of dried or smoked meat were transported, while the ...
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Citations
... In the case of the Leporidae, the relative size and morphology of the remains are homogeneous, which would support that all these remains correspond to Lepus capensis, a species documented in the area during this period (e.g. Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982;Dayan et al. 1986;Carmi et al. 1994;Munro et al. 2020). The bird assemblage found in a pit comprises at least three species of diurnal birds of prey. ...
... Gopher 1983). Ostriches are thought to have lived in all arid and semi-arid areas of the Levant until the late 19 th century (Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982). Their presence is usually related to the use of their eggshells as containers or raw material for manufacturing beads or other ornaments, but such artefacts have not yet been found in Nahal Efe. ...
... On the other hand, two eggshell fragments of similar size and thickness (2.3 mm) were documented and tentatively identified as ostrich. The presence of ostrich eggshells is attested in the Southern Levant in the Middle Palaeolithic sites of Far'ah II and Nahal Aqev(Gilead and Grigson 1984, Barzilai et al. 2022), the Epipalaeolithic sites of Kharaneh 4, Azraq 18 and Wadi Jilat 6(Martin 1994), the Natufian site of Ashalim(Vardi et al. 2018b), and in PPNB sites such as Wadi Tbeik(Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982), Nahal Lavan 1006(Goring-Morris et al. 2006) and Nahal Issaron (Goring-Morris and ...
... In the past, the Negev and Sinai vegetation sustained a fairly rich fauna (Dayan et al. 1986;Perevolotsky and Baharav 1991;Paz 2002), including medium-sized ungulates such as ibex (Capra ibex nubiana), dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas) and oryx (Oryx leucoryx). The presence of mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), purple swamp hen (Porphyrio porphyrio) and possibly aurochs (Bos primigenius) in the 7th millennium BCE Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) sites of Ujrat el Mehed and Wadi Tbeik in south Sinai, indicate that the climate in the early Holocene was moister than today (Dayan et al. 1986;Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982). ...
... hemionus) (for example , Becker 1991;von den Driesch et al. 2004) and a tentative identification of a caballine equid (E. caballus) (Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982). In the Negev, a Late Neolithic equid from a burial context was identified as either a very large wild ass, E. africanus africanus, or a wild horse, E. caballus (Davis 1976;Grigson 2012). ...
The kites in the Negev and Sinai deserts1 (n = 57) are the most western of the large game traps in Asia in general, and the Middle East in particular (Plate 8.1). This area is distinctive in having almost exclusively only one relatively small kite type (Bar-Oz and Nadel 2013). The kites here can be divided into two geographical groups: a northern group in the Negev and north-east Sinai, and a southern group in south Sinai. The aims of this chapter are to a) describe the ecology of the region, b) present the general setting, architecture and dates of both kite groups, c) provide a general comparison between the two, and d) place them within the wider cultural and geographical context of the desert kite phenomenon.
... In it we see the first period in which herds were integrated into the matrix of desert culture, as well-reflected in a transition in the basic architectural unit (Fujii 2013;Rosen 1988). The architecture of Early Timnian habitation sites (e.g., Be'er Ada (Goring-Morris 1993); Xasm Attarif and Ath Thamad (Kozloff 1981); El Qaa (Phillips and Gladfelter 1989), and, slightly later, al-Thulaythuwat sites (Abu-Azizeh 2013); see Fujii (2013) for sites in southern Jordan), is distinctly different from the preceding Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) interlocking beehive structures (Gopher and Goring-Morris 1998;Goring-Morris 1993;Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982). In the Early Timnian, the beehive or clustered plan was replaced by round enclosures with a number of attached stone hut bases (Goring-Morris 1993;Kozloff 1981;Rosen 1988Rosen , 2011. ...
Archaeological remains are a trove of potential data which, together with the study of ritual, enable reconstruction and evaluation of social and religious structures and complexity. Concentrating on the Timnian culture (sixth to late third millennium BCE) of the Southern Levant deserts, we review the changes that took place with the adoption of the domesticated goat, noting the contrast between habitation sites and ritual related megalithic monuments regarding social hierarchy. Desert kites, open-air shrines, and cairns reflect organized communal labour and use, reinforcing tribal identity and the need for territorial definition. The orientation of the open-air shrines reflects a cosmology related to death and mortuary. Timnian Rock art comprises geoglyphs and petroglyphs. Geoglyphs are associated with open air shrines while petroglyphs represent a slightly later development initially unrelated to ritual. In accordance with the rock art repertoire and styles employed, we suggest that the orant was integrated into the Timnian culture following contact with northern cultures by way of trade with Arad. Rock art also highlights foreign entities in the Negev during the Intermediate Bronze age.
... (Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982) The first international meeting of the Archaeozoology of Southwest Asia and Adjacent Areas (ASWA) working group of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ) took place at the University of Groningen in 1992. Ever since, ASWA meetings have served as an inspiring gathering for those conducting archaeozoological research in Southwest Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ...
... Traditionally the Bedouin exploited this annual migration by catching the birds in vertically erected nets. The presence of quail bones in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B habitations of Wadi Tbeik in Sinai (Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982) indicates that the migration of this species has been an annual event in the desert region for many millennia. ...
In the Negev and Sinai deserts, excavations of tens of cult and burial sites, radiometrically dated to the 6 th to 3 rd millennia BC, have yielded assemblages of artefacts and faunal remains. Many of the objects can confidently be identified as cult or mortuary offerings, while the animal bones are identified as remains of sacrifices and food offerings. This article describes finds from fifteen excavated cult and burial sites with standing stones, as well as from the "nawamis" tombs of Sinai. The nature and role of cult and mortuary offerings and sacrifices in past desert societies, is discussed within this context.
... With the exception of suspected E. caballus remains from Wadi Tbeik in Sinai ( Bar-Yosef and Tchernov 1982), the Pre-Pottery Neolithic equids from the deserts of the Southern Levant have been identified as either wild ass (E. africanus africanus) or wild onager (E. ...
The lower forelimb (metacarpal) of an equid, identified as that of a very large wild ass (E. africanus africanus) or a small sized wild horse (E. caballus), was recovered during excavations of a tumulus at Ramat Saharonim in the Central Negev. Given its close association with a Late Neolithic (Timnian) human interment, we have interpreted this bone as representing an early example of a grave offering from the Levantine deserts.
... In contrast, such social examinations have been underdeveloped for settlements in arid, marginal areas. There, archaeological research has focused on investigation of the ecological aspects of prehistoric occupants (Bar-Yosef 1984; Goring- Morris 1993;Simmons 1981) and hunting strategies (Betts 1998;Rosen and Perevolotsky 1998;Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982). ...
... In contrast, such social examinations have been underdeveloped for settlements in arid, marginal areas. There, archaeological research has focused on investigation of the ecological aspects of prehistoric occupants (Bar-Yosef 1984;Goring-Morris 1993;Simmons 1981) and hunting strategies (Betts 1998;Rosen and Perevolotsky 1998;Tchernov and Bar-Yosef 1982). ...
... The wetter phase could have lasted during the PPNA and the PPNB periods, greatly affecting the southern Levantine ecosystems. This wetter phase would also explain the existence of Palaearctic and Mediterranean elements at much lower latitudes within the present Sinai desert (Tchernov, 1981(Tchernov, , 1988a(Tchernov, ,b, 1991Tchernov and Bar-Yosef, 1982;Dayan et al., 1986). ...
... The large difference in the exploitation of caprovids may have been due to the critical attrition of gazelle populations along the Jordan valley, which compelled people to rely on the more difficult hunting of Capra, due to the growing scarcity of gazelles. A complete reliance on the hunting of wild (small and large) game during the PPNB is well known from the desert areas of southern Sinai such as Wadi Tbeik and 'Ujrat-el-Mehed (Dayan et al., 1986;Tchernov and Bar-Yosef, 1982). These regions during this period were still much more mesic and allowed intense hunting. ...
A diachronic series of faunal assemblages dating from the Early Kebaran period (onset circa 17,000 BC) through to the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period (circa 6,000 BC), located in the Lower Jordan Valley were analyzed. For each period the Shannon-Wiener Diversity and Evenness Indices were calculated. Results show that the highest diversity and evenness are found in the Natufian period and Khiamian phase of the PPNA periods. Examination of specific trends in species representation corroborates previous published findings that indicate a steady decrease in the proportion of artiodactyls and a marked increase in the quantity of smaller sized mammals such as birds, reptiles and rodents from the Kebaran onwards. In the PPNB there is an inverse trend with a marked increase in the quantity of artiodactyls, primarily caprines, a feature associated with the onset of domestication in this region. These findings are discussed in relation to both the palaeoclimatic and cultural sequence of the Lower Jordan Valley.
... The faunal assemblage included Bos, ibex, gazelle, ass, hare, and several species of birds, among them the purple galinule, an African species. In addition, several vertebrae and skull bones of a Nilotic catfish were found (Tchernov & Bar-Yosef, 1982). ...
... Based on topographic and architectural considerations, this site was interpreted to be a winter occupation (Bar-Yosef, 1985). This assumption is supported by the faunal evidence, which exhibits a dominance of male ibex over female (Tchernov & Bar-Yosef, 1982). The cause of these frequencies is assumed to be the seasonal avoidance of hunting female ibex, that are pregnant or nursing during winter and therefore have low fat levels (Speth & Spielmann, 1983). ...
... For example, in the Sinai, storage facilities that might have been used for grain may indicate that grain was imported from agricultural sites in Israel and Jordan where cereals had already been cultivated and domesticated at this time. At the same time the fauna from these sites testify to a hunter-gatherer economy (Tchernov & Bar-Yosef, 1982;Dayan et al., 1986). Therefore, it is not unreasonable to conclude that some of the shells they collected along the sea shore were exchanged in return for cereals. ...
Five marine shell assemblages, consisting of over 5000 shells and shell fragments from Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (9200–7800BP) sites in the Sinai peninsula have been studied. The aims of this study were (1) to compare assemblages among the sites and, within the two larger and stratified sites (Ujrat el Mehed and Wadi Tbeik), among levels; and (2) to try to determine the place of marine shells within the socio-economic structure of the PPNB period in southern Sinai. Red Sea shell beads processed in southern Sinai may have been exchanged for cereals from PPNB agricultural communities within the Mediterranean zone.
