Faunal Remains from Recent Excavations at Shishan Marsh 1 (SM1), a Lower Paleolithic Open-Air Site in the Azraq Wetlands, Jordan

Summary

Excavations from 2013-2015 at the open-air site of Shishan Marsh 1 (SM1) located along the former wetlands shoreline in the Azraq Basin of eastern Jordan have yielded substantial Middle Pleistocene lithic assemblages in association with faunal remains. Skeletal preservation is poor, favoring the representation of megafaunal species and more robust elements. Multiple megafaunal taxa have been identified, including Gazella sp. (antelope), Bos cf. primigenius (wild cattle), Camelus sp. (wild camel), Equus spp. (two species of equid), cf. Stephanorhinus hemitoechus (steppe rhinoceros), Elephas sp. (extinct elephant), cf. Panthera leo (lion), and an additional large carnivore. The largely steppe-dwelling taxa were drawn to the relatively lush oasis environment, where they may have become the prey of the carnivores represented and the extant hominin groups exploiting these and other wetland resources. Blood residues from multiple taxa (horse, rhinoceros, bovine, camel, and duck) have been recovered from lithics displaying use-wear, providing direct evidence of exploitation of the represented faunal species plus waterfowl by hominins.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Middle Pleistocene Subsistence in the Azraq Oasis, Jordan: Protein Residue and Other Proxies

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14601