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Faunal remains from recent excavations at Shishan Marsh 1 (SM1), a Late Lower Paleolithic open-air site in the Azraq Basin, Jordan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2019

James T. Pokines*
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA; Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 720 Albany Street, Boston, Massachusetts02118, USA
Adrian M. Lister
Affiliation:
Vertebrates and Anthropology, Earth Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, LondonSW7 5BD, United Kingdom
Christopher J. H. Ames
Affiliation:
University of Wollongong, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia2522 Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Cornett Building B228, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, British ColumbiaV8P 5C2, Canada
April Nowell
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Cornett Building B228, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, British ColumbiaV8P 5C2, Canada
Carlos E. Cordova
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University, 337 Murray Hall, Stillwater, Oklahoma74078-4073, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA. E-mail address: jamespokines@hotmail.com (J.T. Pokines).

Abstract

Excavations from 2013 to 2015 at the site of Shishan Marsh 1 (SM1) in the Azraq Basin of eastern Jordan have yielded substantial late middle Pleistocene lithic assemblages in association with faunal remains. Faunal preservation is poor, but multiple taxa have been identified, including cf. Panthera leo, Gazella sp., Bos cf. primigenius, Camelus sp., Equus spp., cf. Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, Palaeoloxodon cf. recki, and Elephas cf. hysudricus. The overall Azraq habitat may have been most similar to a savanna ecosystem, with a mixture of open grassland/shrub habitats and more closed vegetation along the wetlands margins. These taxa were drawn to the relatively lush oasis environment, where they were a dietary resource of the hominin groups exploiting the wetlands resources.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018 

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