The vertebrate fauna from the Natufian level at Jebel es-Saaïdé (Saaïdé II), Lebanon

• Published in: Paléorient
• Main Author: Churcher, Charles S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Paris : Maison René-Ginouvès 1994
• Subjects: Natufian; Neolithic; Vertebrate Fauna; Ecology; Saaïde IIBekaa Valley; Lebanon; Néolithique; Natoufien; Vertébrés; Ecologie; Saaïdé IIBequaa; Liban; envir; archeo; Otis; Lynx; Lynx lynx lynx
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3406/paleo.1994.960; https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_1994_num_20_2_960

Vertebrate remains recovered from preliminary test trenching and pits in a Natufian habitation site named Saaïdé II, on the edge of Jebel es-Saaïdé, about 800 m northwest of Saaïdé, on the eastern slope of the Lebanon Mountains, indicate a mixed forest and savanna assemblage with some open water. Twenty-two vertebrate taxa are identified from fragmentary remains. These are: Reptilia (1), Moorish, Mediterranean or spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca); Aves (7), ?imperial eagle (Aquila cf. ?heliaca), pintail duck (Anas acula), teal (Anas crecca), pochard (Netta rufina), greylag or white-fronted goose (Anser anser or A. albifrons), great bustard (Otis tarda) and ?rock dove (Columba ?livia); Mammalia (14), hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), man (Homo sapiens), Cape hare (Lepus capensis), mole rat (Spalax ?kebarensis). golden jackal (Canis aureus syriacus), ?red fox (Vulpes ?vulpes), honey badger (Mellivora capensis), stone marten (Martes ?foina), ?European lynx (?Lynx lynx), red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), goat (Capra aegagrus) or ibex (C. ibex), and wild cattle or aurochs (Bos primigenius). This assemblage suggests that the Natufian inhabitants of Jebel es-Saaïdé hunted both in the broadleafed forests of the Lebanon Mountains for deer or in the grasslands of the Litani-Asi drainage for gazelle, hares or rodents, and obtained waterbirds along the streams flowing into the Asi River. The cattle may have been taken either near the water or in the forests. Key-words : Neolithic. Natufian. Vertebrate Fauna, Ecology, Saaïdé II, Bekaa Valley. Lebanon. Churcher Charles S. The vertebrate fauna from the Natufian level at Jebel es-Saaïdé (Saaïdé II), Lebanon. In: Paléorient, 1994, vol. 20, n°2. pp. 35-58. Les restes de vertébrés mis au jour dans les sondages préliminaires effectués sur le site naloufien de Saaïdé II, sur la pente orientale des Monts du Liban, représentent une faune de forêt mixte et de savane avec des zones humides. Les 22 taxons de vertébrés ...