Animal Exploitation and Behaviour of the Latest Middle Stone Age Societies in the Middle Nile Valley: Archaeozoological and Taphonomic Analysis of Late Pleistocene Fauna from the Affad Basin, Sudan

摘要: With the research on issue in its initial phases, behaviour and hunting strategies of MSA communities inhabiting Nile Valley Late Terminal Pleistocene have been fragmentarily recognised thus far. Osteological materials from area Affad Basin Middle Valley, recorded archaeological contexts dated to sixteenth millennium BP using OSL methods, significantly enhanced our knowledge this regard. It is first time that an opportunity has occurred construct a reliable model environment exploitation human groups producing lithic tools Levallois methods Pleistocene. Archaeozoological analyses allowed identification taxa, species anatomical origin remains enabled establishment database osteometric measurements. The animals hunted Sudanese during classified with view refer data results analogous studies South Africa. occupying 15,000 years ago was connected tree-covered, swampy savannah extensive backwaters. Medium-sized antelope (kobus) most often. People also, albeit less frequently, for large ruminants (buffalo), guenons rodents. Remains fish mega-fauna (hippopotamus elephant) found isolated concentrations, away camp sites. molluscs or ostrich eggs not registered. condition osteological materials, notably their distribution, shown largely affected by wetland environment, rich iron manganese.