Dietary change in the Epi-Paleolithic and Neolithic of the Levant : the Sr/Ca evidence

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Abstract
Site catchment surveys, dental-wear analyses and conventional archaeological studies have provided a complex, often contradictory picture of the diet of Natufian and other Epi-Paleolithic peoples. In order to clarify the variability and possible diachronic changes in diet during this period, strontium-calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) were determined for all Kebaran, Natufian and PPNA sites in the Levant from which appropriate faunal and human samples were available. At all Kebaran and Early Natufian levels, including Kebara В and C, Hayonim Cave В and El Wad B, a moderate consumption of cereal foods was detectable. However the consumption of cereal foods was found to markedly decrease in the later Natufian at Mallaha and Nahal Oren. With the domestication of cereals in the PPNA, these foods were found to regain their previous importance in human diets.

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