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New Study Reveals Evidence of Fishing in the Kinneret 23,000 Years Ago

Tilapia and carp have been on the menu since time immemorial and helped Stone Age societies flourish 11,000 years before the agricultural revolution

by
Liel Leibovitz
June 22, 2018
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TilapiaShutterstock
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TilapiaShutterstock

Israeli researchers, writing in the academic journal Plos One, revealed this week that they had found evidence of fishing in the Kinneret as early as 23,000 years ago.

Analyzing 17,000 fish remains dating back to the Late Upper Paleolithic, also known as the Stone Age, and discovered at the Ohalo II site on the lake’s shores, the researchers identified eight different species, including carp and tilapia. “Employing a large set of quantitative and qualitative criteria,” they wrote, “we demonstrate that the inhabitants of Ohalo II used their knowledge of the breeding behavior of different species of fish, for year-round intensive exploitation.”

The study, said Tel Aviv University professor Tamar Dayan, one of the researchers, found that the ancient fishermen harvesting the Kinneret were adept at preserving and storing tilapia, leading to year-round economic stability. The study, she added, is the first concrete proof that “sitting by the Kinneret and taking advantage of its fish brought about a seminal change in the structure of a semi-nomadic society and served as a vanguard for the agricultural revolution that arrived thousands of years later.” About 11,000 years later, to be more accurate, suggesting that start-up nation was in the innovation business long before the advent of the microchip.

Still, said the study’s lead author, professor Irit Zohar of Haifa University, there’s much we still don’t know. “Our knowledge of the Kinneret’s importance as an attractive greenhouse enabling the settlement of ancient societies and its contribution to the development of fishing communities is lacking,” Zohar said. “One main reason for this is the change in the water level, with the water covering and, at times, destroying archaeological evidence.”

Still, the study does make a significant contribution to the debate about ancient diets, giving fish their much-due respect.

“The role of fish exploitation may consequently have been largely underestimated,” it reads, “with fishing having been incorrectly attributed to periods of economic stress following a dearth of the more traditional food items. The findings from the current study of the fish remains from Ohalo II greatly change this view and indicate that aquatic habitats, too, played an important role in the diet and economy of past populations, greatly contributing to their stability.”

Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.