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The anurans and squamates assemblage from Final Natufian Eynan (Ain Mallaha, Israel) with an emphasis on snake-human interactions.

ABSTRACT: During the Natufian period, more than 12,000 years ago, Eynan (Ain Mallaha) was an important human settlement in the Hula Valley, Israel. This study concentrates on the anuran and squamate assemblage from the ultimate stage of the Natufian period at the site, the Final Natufian. Over five thousand bones assigned to at least sixteen taxa were studied from a sampled segment of the excavated open-air site. Relative species abundance, spatial distribution, taphonomic observations and ecological considerations all pointed to the conclusion that the inhabitants of Eynan intensively exploited three large "colubrine" snakes species: the Large Whip Snake (Dolichophis jugularis), the Eastern Montpellier Snake (Malpolon insignitus) and an Eastern Four-lined Ratsnake (Elaphe cf. sauromates). These snakes were the most desired and were intensively gathered, while other snakes and lizards could have been opportunistically collected when encountered. We raise questions about whether the large "colubrines" exploitation should be interpreted as additional evidence of increasing diet breadth. We suggest challenging this line of reasoning and offer possible alternative motives.

SUBMITTER: Biton R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7906325 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The anurans and squamates assemblage from Final Natufian Eynan (Ain Mallaha, Israel) with an emphasis on snake-human interactions.

Biton Rebecca R Bailon Salvador S Birkenfeld Michal M Bridault Anne A Khalaily Hamoudi H Valla François R FR Rabinovich Rivka R

PloS one 20210225 2

During the Natufian period, more than 12,000 years ago, Eynan (Ain Mallaha) was an important human settlement in the Hula Valley, Israel. This study concentrates on the anuran and squamate assemblage from the ultimate stage of the Natufian period at the site, the Final Natufian. Over five thousand bones assigned to at least sixteen taxa were studied from a sampled segment of the excavated open-air site. Relative species abundance, spatial distribution, taphonomic observations and ecological cons ...[more]

PMID: 33630883

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Project description:UnlabelledBackgroundPrevious studies examining the metabolic consequences of dietary iron deficiency have reported elevated serum glucose concentrations in iron-deficient animals. Importantly, the majority of these findings were observed using an earlier version of a laboratory animal diet (AIN-76A) in which the primary carbohydrate source was sucrose - a disaccharide known to negatively impact both glucose and lipid homeostasis. The AIN-76A diet formula was improved in 1993 (AIN-93) to optimize animal nutrition with a major change being the substitution of cornstarch for sucrose. Therefore, we sought to examine the effects of iron deficiency on steady-state glucose homeostasis and the hepatic expression of glucose- and lipid-related genes in rats fed an iron-deficient diet based on either an AIN-76A or AIN-93 diet.MethodsThe study design consisted of 6 treatment groups: control (C; 40 mg Fe/kg diet), iron deficient (ID; ≤ 3 mg Fe/kg diet), or pair-fed (PF; 40 mg Fe/kg) fed either an AIN-76A or AIN-93 diet for 21 d. Hemoglobin and hematocrit were measured in whole blood. Serum insulin and cortisol were measure by ELISA. Serum glucose and triacylglycerols were measured by standard colorimetric enzyme assays. Alterations in hepatic gene expression were determined by real-time qPCR.ResultsHemoglobin and hematocrit were significantly reduced in both ID groups compared to the C and PF groups. Similarly, animals in the both ID groups exhibited elevated steady-state levels of blood glucose and insulin, and significantly decreased levels of circulating cortisol compared to their respective PF controls. Serum triacyglycerols were only increased in ID animals consuming the AIN-76A diet. Hepatic gene expression analyses revealed a ~4- and 3-fold increase in the expression of glucokinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase-4 mRNA, respectively, in the ID group on either diet compared to their respective PF counterparts. In contrast, the expression of lipogenic genes was significantly elevated in the AIN-76 ID group, while expression of these genes was unaffected by iron status in the AIN-93 ID group.ConclusionsThese results indicate that an impaired iron status is sufficient to alter glucose homeostasis, though alterations in lipid metabolism associated with ID are only observed in animals receiving the AIN-76A diet.

Dataset Information

The anurans and squamates assemblage from Final Natufian Eynan (Ain Mallaha, Israel) with an emphasis on snake-human interactions.

Publications

The anurans and squamates assemblage from Final Natufian Eynan (Ain Mallaha, Israel) with an emphasis on snake-human interactions.

Similar Datasets

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