Date:

11,500-year-old animal bones in Jordan suggest early dogs helped humans hunt

11,500 years ago in what is now northeast Jordan, people began to live alongside dogs and may also have used them for hunting, a new study from the University of Copenhagen shows.

The archaeologists suggest that the introduction of dogs as hunting aids may explain the dramatic increase of hares and other small prey in the archaeological remains at the site.

- Advertisement -

Dogs were domesticated by humans as early as 14,000 years ago in the Near East, but whether this was accidental or on purpose is so far not clear. New research published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology by a team of archaeologists from the University of Copenhagen and University College London may suggest that humans valued the tracking and hunting abilities of early dogs more than previously known.

A study of animal bones from the 11,500 year old settlement Shubayqa 6 in northeast Jordan not only suggests that dogs were present in this region at the start of the Neolithic period, but that humans and dogs likely hunted animals together:

“The study of the large assemblage of animal bones from Shubayqa 6 revealed a large proportion of bones with unmistakable signs of having passed through the digestive tract of another animal; these bones are so large that they cannot have been swallowed by humans, but must have been digested by dogs,” explained zooarchaeologist and the study’s lead author Lisa Yeomans.

Lisa Yeomans and her colleagues have been able to show that Shubayqa 6 was occupied year round, which suggests that the dogs were living together with the humans rather than visiting the site when there were no inhabitants:

- Advertisement -

“The dogs were not kept at the fringes of the settlement, but must have been closely integrated into all aspects of day-to-day life and allowed to freely roam around the settlement, feeding on discarded bones and defecating in and around the site.”

Can new hunting techniques account for the increase in small prey?

When Yeomans and her co-authors sifted through the analysed data, they also noted a curious increase in the number of hares at the time that dogs appeared at Shubayqa 6. Hares were hunted for their meat, but Shubayqa 6’s inhabitants also used the hare bones to make beads. The team think that it is likely that the appearance of dogs and the increase in hares are related.

“The use of dogs for hunting smaller, fast prey such as hares and foxes, perhaps driving them into enclosures, could provide an explanation that is in line with the evidence we have gathered. The long history of dog use, to hunt both small as well as larger prey, in the region is well known, and it would be strange not to consider hunting aided by dogs as a likely explanation for the sudden abundance of smaller prey in the archaeological record,” said Lisa Yeomans.

“The shift may also be associated with a change in hunting technique from a method, such as netting, that saw an unselective portion of the hare population captured, to a selective method of hunting in which individual animals were targeted. This could have been achieved by dogs.”

About Shubayqa 6

Shubayqa 6 is situated on the northern edge of the Qa’ Shubayqa, around 130 km northeast of the Jordanian capital, Amman. It is the ?rst substantial early Neolithic settlement identi?ed in the Black Desert and has been under investigation since 2012; this and previous studies demonstrate that settlement in this semi-arid to arid zone was more intensive than previously thought and that the area could sustain large populations of animals and humans.

The excavations were carried out in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan as part of a project funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research, Danish Institute in Damascus and H.P. Hjerl Mindefondet for Dansk Palæstinaforsking.

UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN – FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

Header Image – One of the excavated structures at the Shubayqa 6 site. Credit : University of Copenhagen

- Advertisement -

Stay Updated: Follow us on iOS, Android, Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, and our newsletter

spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is a multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 8,000 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

New archaeological treasures unearthed at Finziade

Archaeologists excavating at Finziade in southern Italy have unearthed an artisan workshop and a domestic sacellum containing archaeological treasures.

Significant multi-period discoveries in Delbrück-Bentfeld

An archaeological excavation in Delbrück-Bentfeld, a town in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has unearthed nearly 400 features of archaeological interest that span several centuries.

Excavation confirms the origin of Sheffield Castle

Archaeologists excavating the former site of Sheffield Castle site have confirmed that an artificial mound within the castle interior is a motte dating back to the earliest phase of the castle’s construction.

WWII bunker unexpectedly discovered during forest clearance works

A WWII bunker has been discovered during forest clearance works for the S17 Piaski–Hrebenne expressway in eastern Poland.

Salvage project reveals 500 years of Veracruz history

An archaeological salvage project in Veracruz, Mexico, has uncovered more than five centuries of the city’s urban development and everyday life.

Aerial photographs indicate an enormous Avar-Era cemetery

An analysis of aerial photographs has led to the discovery of a previously unknown Avar-era cemetery on the outskirts of Tatabánya, Hungary.

Excavations reveal a vast Roman villa complex

Archaeologists from Inrap have revealed a vast Roman villa complex during excavations in Auxerre, France.

Unprecedented Roman discovery in Ireland

Archaeologists have made an unprecedented Roman discovery during excavations at Drumanagh in north Dublin.