Mughr el-Hamamah (MHM) is currently the only known Levantine Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) Cave site in the eastern half of the Jordan Valley. Excavations at the site revealed securely dated, artifact-rich anthropogenic deposits ranging between 45 – 39 ka cal BP, providing a unique opportunity to explore the environmental adaptations of EUP human groups. In this study, we use isotopic analysis of incrementally sampled gazelle and Persian fallow deer tooth email to 1) reconstruct the environmental conditions persisting during the time of human occupation and 2) estimate the hunting range of MHM’s inhabitants. Our results indicate that the site location provided ideal environmental conditions that facilitated successive human occupations during a humid phase of the Last Glacial cycle. Seasonal changes in oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) values measured in Persian fallow deer teeth indicate heavy reliance on permanent water flow from paleo Lake Lisan tributaries, and the presence of riparian thickets that provided lush forage and predation protection. The site’s location, which was below the treeline, also provided areas of open landscape conducive to gazelle hunting. Using isotopic markers, we estimate that MHM’s inhabitants exploited a hunting area of ~36 square kilometers. This hunting range covers the ridge on which MHM is located, including Wadi Kufranja to the north and Wadi Rajeb on the south. The western boundary of the range would have been limited by Lake Lisan, and we estimate that the eastern boundary of the range extended to the mid-elevation slopes of the Transjordanian mountains. This opens a discussion about home ranges, group size, and the seasonality of site use.
