Zooarchaeological measures of hunting pressure and occupation intensity in the Natufian - Implications for agricultural origins

Climatic change, population pressure, and environmental stress are frequently cited as major catalysts for the adoption of agriculture. The role of these factors immediately prior to the agricultural transition in the southern Levant is here explored by reconstructing human economic and demographic conditions in the Natufian period. Thorough processing of gazelle carcasses for edible products including meat, marrow, and bone grease and the capture of abundant juvenile animals reflect intensive yet stable ungulate-procurement strategies across the Natufian. Despite this stability, a dramatic shift in the ratio of high-to low-ranked game at the Early/Late Natufian boundary signals a reduction in site-occupation intensity and increased population mobility immediately prior to the agricultural transition. Contrary to current models, the faunal evidence suggests not that agriculture was adopted in immediate response to the cooling and drying of the Younger Dryas but that the Late Natufians embraced more cost-effective demographic solutions for coping with environmental stress.