Local environmental change and fallow deer hunting at Amud Cave: Evidence from a combined plant wax and tooth enamel isotope study

Neanderthal presence in the southern Levant has raised questions regarding behavioral flexibility and adaptation strategies across diverse climatic and ecological settings. The association of most Levantine Neanderthal sites with the last glacial period has led some researchers to frame their presence and subsequent disappearance from the region as climatically driven. Increasingly, the use of site-specific paleoenvironmental proxies and recognition of Neanderthal behavioral complexity are challenging simple climate-driven explanations, suggesting resilience to ecological impacts. Amud Cave is a key Levantine Middle Paleolithic site documenting Neanderthal occupation from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 through early MIS 3. Its two discrete occupation phases provide a framework for comparing local environmental dynamics across fluctuating glacial conditions. Here, we present an isotopic study of fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) tooth enamel and plant waxes extracted from archaeological sediments directly associated with Neanderthal activity. These proxies are used to refine reconstructions of evolving hydroclimatic and ecological conditions at Amud and to evaluate their implications for hunting behavior. Plant wax hydrogen and carbon isotope results indicate that the late occupation phase was characterized by hydroclimatic variability alongside an expansion of woody vegetation in the cave's vicinity. This finding supports previously proposed climate-mediated changes in gazelle hunting practices. In contrast, tooth enamel isotope data does not indicate diachronic shifts in fallow deer home ranges. Oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotope ratios instead suggest persistent exploitation of low-lying channels near the cave, with only sporadic use of adjacent territories during both occupation phases. Together, these results indicate that Amud Neanderthals employed differential procurement strategies for distinct prey species, reflecting behavioral flexibility in hunting organization. Such flexibility likely enabled stable access to resources despite changing ecological conditions. Considered alongside evidence for amelioration during the Amud sequence, these findings underscore importance of non-climatic factors shaping Neanderthal persistence and disappearance from Levant.