Researchers found that foxes and wildcats were more frequently on people's menus than previously thought.

For a long time, archaeologists interpreted numerous bones of small predators, whose remains were previously found in early Neolithic settlements in the Levant, as those of fur hunters. However, in a new analysis, scientists discovered that the reality was quite different, as reported by IFLScience.

Researchers now believe that foxes and wild cats were actually featured on human menus much more frequently than previously thought. The new findings also suggest that these small predators should likely be considered as game in future studies.

It is known that around 15,000 to 11,700 years ago, hunter-gatherers in the Levant—a region that today includes Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria—began the transition from agriculture to pastoralism. However, this transition was by no means swift.

During this transition, people began to hunt less for large game and favored smaller species, including smaller animals like birds and fish. Archaeological records are replete with evidence of this shift, as animal bones were abundantly found in the settlements of that era.

Among the many bones discovered by scientists at excavation sites, the remains of small predators were also found. For instance, red foxes and wild cats. Initially, researchers believed that these remains belonged to fur hunters. Some scientists also speculated that the bones and teeth of small predators might have been used for symbolic purposes. Consequently, researchers ruled out the possibility that foxes and wild cats were part of the human diet.

In a new study, scientists re-examined animal bones found at the 10,000-year-old AhiHUD site in Western Galilee, Israel. They identified the bones of foxes, wild cats, and hares. The team uncovered a total of 1,244 disarticulated bones and estimated that about 30% belonged to mountain gazelles, while 12% were from red foxes. In total, bones from foxes, wild cats, martens, Egyptian mongooses, European badgers, and other mustelids made up about 16%.

Interestingly, many of the animal remains showed evidence of butchering, including knife marks. According to the researchers, 52% of the cuts on the fox remains were related to butchering, and 9 out of 10 cuts were found on the shoulder and thigh bones—such cuts are not typical for skinning.

As for wild cats, about 83 percent of the knife marks were associated with butchering, and all were located on the leg bones of the animals. The remaining knife marks were attributed to skinning. Researchers also found burn marks on the bones of predators to the same extent as on deer bones. Most of these were also localized in the upper limbs, which is linked to meat consumption.

Thus, the scientists concluded that foxes and wild cats were indeed part of human diets much more frequently than previously believed. This reinforces the argument that these animals, along with other small carnivores, should be classified as game when researchers study Neolithic peoples and animal economies.