Eastern Mediterranean 15,000 years ago was wetlands teeming with birds: study

Around 15,000 years ago, the area now covered by the eastern Mediterranean Sea was a vast expanse of lakes and marshes filled with birdlife, Israeli researchers said on Thursday, reported Xinhua.

In a study published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, a team from the University of Haifa analyzed hundreds of bird bones found in a cave on Mount Carmel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that documents the shift from nomadic to settled human life.

The bones, from ducks, geese, partridges, quails, and birds of prey, bore cut and burn marks, suggesting that Natufian hunter-gatherers hunted, processed, and cooked the birds. Some bones were shaped into beads, indicating they were also used for decoration or social purposes.

The Natufian culture, which thrived in the Levant between 15,000 and 11,500 years ago, is seen as a key precursor to agriculture. Its people built permanent settlements, harvested wild cereals, and stored food long before the domestication of plants and animals.

Researchers said that during the late Ice Age, sea levels were much lower and the coastal plain stretched far beyond today's shoreline. When the Carmel inhabitants looked west, they would have seen wide wetlands instead of the sea, which they visited in winter for short hunting trips.

The study identified four settlement phases, showing how hunting patterns and environmental conditions changed over time. The findings suggest that the Natufians relied on migratory birds for food and materials, adapting their lifestyle to a shifting landscape.