Animal exploitation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Period at Wadi Tbeik, Southern Sinai

The faunal remains from the "PPNB" site of Wadi Tbeik (southern Sinai) provide evidence for the presence of a nomadic society with a seasonal pattern of habitation, practicing a mode of hunting control. The most abundant animal was Lepus cupensis. Ibex (Capra ibex nubiana) and gazelle (Gazella sp.) were exploited as the primary meat source. Equids were common while Bos cf. primigenius seems to be rare. In contrast with other "PPNB" sites in the Levant, birds were common targets for hunting and an important source of food. Predators were Hyaena hyaena, Vulpes vulpes, Fennecus zerda and Felis silvestris. No indications of domestication have been found. There are, however, signs of some deliberate interference with the natural populations of ibexes through preferential culling by sex. The striking existence of the purple gallinule (Porphyrio porphyrio), a cat-fish (Clarias cf. anguillaris) and Bos clearly indicate a much more mesic climate at the time in the montane region of southern Sinai than at present. The faunal assemblage exhibits a large variety of habitats, from aquatic to extremely arid, indicating a patchy mixed landscape in the vicinity.