15,000-Year-Old Bones Show Ancient Natufians in Israel Regularly Ate Lizards and Snakes

Ancient Natufian hunter-gatherers living in northern Israel around 15,000 years ago regularly hunted and ate reptiles after establishing permanent settlements in the region, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study examined the remains of thousands of lizard and snake bones recovered from excavations at the el-wad Terrace archaeological site in the Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve on Mount Carmel.

The site contains 20 archaeological layers of repeated settlement spanning about 3,000 years, which researchers dated to between approximately 15,000 and 12,000 years ago using radiocarbon dating. 'Lizards and snakes became an important part of their diet during this period,' said Dr. Maayan Lev, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at Kiel University in Germany, who worked with Professor Mina Weinstein-Evron and Professor Reuven Yeshurun of the University of Haifa.

Using close microscopic examination, the researchers identified, for the first time, incisions made by flint knives in consistent locations on the bones of large snakes found at the site. These marks allowed the team to distinguish reptile remains that died naturally or were preyed upon by mammals and birds from those that had served as food for humans.

The bones belonged to the large whip snake (Dolichophis jugularis) and the eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus). Researchers also found indirect evidence that Natufians ate the European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus), which required a different butchering method because of its tougher scales. 'Our hypothesis is that the Natufian people preferred to catch reptiles that were relatively large, relatively slow and not dangerous,' Lev said, adding that venomous snakes such as vipers were rarely caught.

The large number of bones from the glass lizard and other 'more productive' reptiles found across all 20 archaeological layers suggests these animals were a reliable food source for the settling Natufians. The study was carried out as part of the sedentism origins research project, led by Yeshurun and funded by the Israel Science Foundation.