Snake bones with flint cuts show Mount Carmel settlers ate reptiles 15,000 years ago
Around 15,000 years ago, the way of life of human communities in the southern Levant underwent a fundamental change. Groups of hunter-gatherers, who until then had been nomadic, reduced their mobility and established small, permanent settlements for the first time.
Around 15,000 years ago, the lifestyle of early human communities in the southern Levant underwent a significant shift. These hunter-gatherers began to settle in small, permanent communities for the first time, marking an important stage in the history of human sedentism. This change in lifestyle had implications for their diets, as they could no longer be as selective about their food sources.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) provides the first evidence of Natufian people hunting reptiles, including lizards and snakes, which formed a significant part of their diet during this period. The study, based on excavations at the el-wad Terrace archaeological site on Mount Carmel in Israel, analyzed reptile remains across 20 archaeological layers dating back 3,000 years.
Researchers identified cut marks made by flint knives on the bones of large snakes, indicating their consumption. The team hypothesizes that Natufian people preferred to hunt larger, slower, and nonvenomous reptiles, which provided a reliable and sustainable food source during early sedentism.
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