The Fossil Antelopes of Palestine in Natufian (Mesolithic) Times, with Descriptions of New Species

Abstract

A study of the fossil vertebrate fauna of the Wady el-Mughara caves was published in 1937 (Bate, 1937), but at that time it had not been found possible to carry out an intensive examination of the antelope remains, except for the purpose of making the first record of a fossil hartebeest in Palestine. This omission was due partly to lack of sufficient time and partly to the fact that the specimens were generally in a very fragmentary state of preservation. Nevertheless, since remains of gazelles, together with those of Dama mesopotamica, occurred throughout the cave leveis and were more plentiful than those of other species it was found practical to make use of these two types as climatic indicators, while other species were used as a control (Bate, 1937, fig. 1).