The Early-Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov: Inter-site variability

Rivka Rabinovich; Rebecca Biton

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.12.002

The Early-Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov: Inter-site variability

Rivka Rabinovich^*, Rebecca Biton

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigates faunal remains from the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, analyzing how hominins may have utilized vertebrates and exploring paleoenvironments during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Based on analyses of a range of vertebrates, results show that the species distribution of terrestrial vertebrates (microvertebrates and mammals) at the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov shows relative stasis above the Matuyama-Brunhes Boundary (MBB) (0.78 Ma). However, consistency in faunal remains at the site reflecting stasis does not seem to reflect accurately the paleoenvironment. Marked changes are demonstrable in the lake-margin sedimentary background, archaeological remains, and agents of accumulation and damage, as well as in the density of medium-large mammals. This study emphasizes the significance of studying assemblages as a whole rather than the species representation on its own.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	357-374
Number of pages	18
Journal	Journal of Human Evolution
Volume	60
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.12.002
State	Published - Apr 2011

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Special thanks to N. Goren-Inbar who has been the motivating force behind the GBY project through the years, and the organizer of an outstanding scientific workshop. Special thanks also to the colleagues we consulted throughout the project: Shosh Ashkenazi, Boaz Shcham and Yehuda Werner, and to those who contributed to the definition of the fauna: A. Lister, B. Martínez-Navarro and V. Eisenmann. To Itzhak Aizenberg DVM who performed the CT scan, to Sarit Levi who is always ready to help, to Smadar Gabrieli who edited the text and to Prof. Steve Leigh the editor for his help. Thanks are due to the reviewers who recommended valuable changes to the original text. The Israel Science Foundation financed the Center of Excellence for the study of Climate Change in The Upper Jordan Valley Between Ca. 800 Ka and 700 Ka Ago — Its Impact on the Environment and Hominins and its Potential as A Prediction For Future Scenarios (Grant No. 300/06 ).

Keywords

Gesher Benot Ya'aqov
Medium-large mammals
Microvertebrates
Taphonomy

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.12.002

Cite this

@article{90ad30d90fda44dca31e8b6384f4e61a,

title = "The Early-Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov: Inter-site variability",

abstract = "This study investigates faunal remains from the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, analyzing how hominins may have utilized vertebrates and exploring paleoenvironments during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Based on analyses of a range of vertebrates, results show that the species distribution of terrestrial vertebrates (microvertebrates and mammals) at the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov shows relative stasis above the Matuyama-Brunhes Boundary (MBB) (0.78 Ma). However, consistency in faunal remains at the site reflecting stasis does not seem to reflect accurately the paleoenvironment. Marked changes are demonstrable in the lake-margin sedimentary background, archaeological remains, and agents of accumulation and damage, as well as in the density of medium-large mammals. This study emphasizes the significance of studying assemblages as a whole rather than the species representation on its own.",

keywords = "Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Medium-large mammals, Microvertebrates, Taphonomy",

author = "Rivka Rabinovich and Rebecca Biton",

note = "Funding Information: Special thanks to N. Goren-Inbar who has been the motivating force behind the GBY project through the years, and the organizer of an outstanding scientific workshop. Special thanks also to the colleagues we consulted throughout the project: Shosh Ashkenazi, Boaz Shcham and Yehuda Werner, and to those who contributed to the definition of the fauna: A. Lister, B. Mart{\'i}nez-Navarro and V. Eisenmann. To Itzhak Aizenberg DVM who performed the CT scan, to Sarit Levi who is always ready to help, to Smadar Gabrieli who edited the text and to Prof. Steve Leigh the editor for his help. Thanks are due to the reviewers who recommended valuable changes to the original text. The Israel Science Foundation financed the Center of Excellence for the study of Climate Change in The Upper Jordan Valley Between Ca. 800 Ka and 700 Ka Ago — Its Impact on the Environment and Hominins and its Potential as A Prediction For Future Scenarios (Grant No. 300/06 ). ",

year = "2011",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.12.002",

language = "אנגלית",

volume = "60",

pages = "357--374",

journal = "Journal of Human Evolution",

issn = "0047-2484",

publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",

number = "4",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Early-Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov

T2 - Inter-site variability

AU - Rabinovich, Rivka

AU - Biton, Rebecca

N1 - Funding Information: Special thanks to N. Goren-Inbar who has been the motivating force behind the GBY project through the years, and the organizer of an outstanding scientific workshop. Special thanks also to the colleagues we consulted throughout the project: Shosh Ashkenazi, Boaz Shcham and Yehuda Werner, and to those who contributed to the definition of the fauna: A. Lister, B. Martínez-Navarro and V. Eisenmann. To Itzhak Aizenberg DVM who performed the CT scan, to Sarit Levi who is always ready to help, to Smadar Gabrieli who edited the text and to Prof. Steve Leigh the editor for his help. Thanks are due to the reviewers who recommended valuable changes to the original text. The Israel Science Foundation financed the Center of Excellence for the study of Climate Change in The Upper Jordan Valley Between Ca. 800 Ka and 700 Ka Ago — Its Impact on the Environment and Hominins and its Potential as A Prediction For Future Scenarios (Grant No. 300/06 ).

PY - 2011/4

Y1 - 2011/4

N2 - This study investigates faunal remains from the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, analyzing how hominins may have utilized vertebrates and exploring paleoenvironments during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Based on analyses of a range of vertebrates, results show that the species distribution of terrestrial vertebrates (microvertebrates and mammals) at the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov shows relative stasis above the Matuyama-Brunhes Boundary (MBB) (0.78 Ma). However, consistency in faunal remains at the site reflecting stasis does not seem to reflect accurately the paleoenvironment. Marked changes are demonstrable in the lake-margin sedimentary background, archaeological remains, and agents of accumulation and damage, as well as in the density of medium-large mammals. This study emphasizes the significance of studying assemblages as a whole rather than the species representation on its own.

AB - This study investigates faunal remains from the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, analyzing how hominins may have utilized vertebrates and exploring paleoenvironments during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Based on analyses of a range of vertebrates, results show that the species distribution of terrestrial vertebrates (microvertebrates and mammals) at the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov shows relative stasis above the Matuyama-Brunhes Boundary (MBB) (0.78 Ma). However, consistency in faunal remains at the site reflecting stasis does not seem to reflect accurately the paleoenvironment. Marked changes are demonstrable in the lake-margin sedimentary background, archaeological remains, and agents of accumulation and damage, as well as in the density of medium-large mammals. This study emphasizes the significance of studying assemblages as a whole rather than the species representation on its own.

KW - Gesher Benot Ya'aqov

KW - Medium-large mammals

KW - Microvertebrates

KW - Taphonomy

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79952359416&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.12.002

DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.12.002

M3 - ???researchoutput.researchoutputtypes.contributiontojournal.article???

AN - SCOPUS:79952359416

SN - 0047-2484

VL - 60

SP - 357

EP - 374

JO - Journal of Human Evolution

JF - Journal of Human Evolution

IS - 4

ER -

The Early-Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov: Inter-site variability

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this