Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33630883›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

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

Rebecca Biton, Salvador Bailon, Michal Birkenfeld, Anne Bridault, Hamoudi Khalaily, François R Valla, Rivka Rabinovich

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Three millennia of lizard and snake consumption by Natufian foragers.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Rebecca BitonDepartment of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.ORCID 0000-0003-4710-0538
Salvador BailonUMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, pratiques et environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France.
Michal BirkenfeldDepartment of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Anne BridaultCNRS, UMR 7041 ArScAn-Archéologies environnementales, MSH Mondes René Ginouvès, Nanterre, France.ORCID 0000-0001-6505-1763
Hamoudi KhalailyIsrael Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, Israel.
François R VallaCNRS, UMR 7041 ArScAn-Archéologies environnementales, MSH Mondes René Ginouvès, Nanterre, France.
Rivka RabinovichNational Natural History Collections, Institute of Earth Sciences, Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FRBen-Gurion University of the Negev · ILHebrew University of Jerusalem · ILIsrael Antiquities Authority · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

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.

Indexed as

AnimalsAnuraArchaeologyBiological EvolutionBone and BonesDietEnvironmentHumansIsraelLizardsSnakes

Identifiers

PMID33630883
PMCPMC7906325
OpenAlexW3131884649

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.