Ostrich eggshells photographs and associated scripts

Data and scripts associated with the manuscript:

Archaeological Ostrich Eggshell Structure as a Taxonomic and Paleoenvironmental Indicator 

Ella Tsahar[1], Guy Bar-Oz[2], Ido Izhaki[3], Uzi Avner[4], Omry Barzilai[2], Anna Belfer-Cohen[5], Lotan Edeltin[6], Mae Goder-Goldberger[5,12], Erella Hovers[5,9,10,11], Maya Oron[2,5,7], Steven A. Rosen[6], Roee Shafir[2], Jacob Vardi[7], Mina Weinstein-Evron[2], Lior Weissbrod[7], Reuven Yeshurun[2], Uri Wolkowski[2], Yossi Zaidner[5], Liora Kolska Horwitz[8] and Nimrod Marom[2, 11]

Department of Natural Science and Environmental Education, Faculty of Education, Oranim College, Kiryat Tivon 3600600, Israel

School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, Faculty of Humanities, University of Haifa, Haifa 3103301, Israel

Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3103301, Israel

Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Patio 655, Eilat 8808371, Israel

Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel

Department of Archaeology, Ben Gurion University, David Ben Gurion Blvd 1, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel

Israel Antiquities Authority, The National Campus for Archaeology, Nachman Avigad 1 Jerusalem, 9370726, Israel.

National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University, E. Safra-Givat Ram Campus, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel

Co-director, Minerva Center for the Study of Population Fragmentation https://www.mcpopfrag.com/ 

International Research Affiliate, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, USA

Associated Researcher, ICArEHB, University of Algarve, Portugal 

Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yeshayahu Leibowitz St Jerusalem, Israel

Abstract

We investigated the macrostructure and pore morphology of ostrich eggshells to evaluate their potential as indicators of past ostrich taxonomy and paleoenvironmental conditions in the southern Levant. To this end, we compared pore patterns of all extant ostrich species with those observed on eggshell fragments recovered from 20 archaeological sites in Israel, dating from the late Middle Pleistocene to the late Holocene. Our analysis revealed a shift from a clustered pore pattern—resembling that of the extant Somali ostrich—to a scattered pattern characteristic of the now-extinct Syrian ostrich. This transition, which occurred approximately between 100 and 70 ka, is interpreted as evidence of a species turnover, an interpretation supported by ecological niche models, which suggest that suitable habitats for the Somali ostrich existed in the southern Levant prior to ~100 ka, with peaks of particularly high habitat suitability around 240 ka and 120 ka. We propose that the presence of the Somali ostrich in the southern Levant possibly coincided with interglacial conditions that facilitated faunal movement through an open biogeographic corridor connecting Africa and the Levant. The entry of the Syrian ostrich into the region was associated with more arid condition. Our findings demonstrate the value of ostrich eggshells as a taxonomic biomarker and for reconstructing past environments and faunal distributions in the southern Levant and other regions.

Keywords: Southern Levant, Eggshell pore pattern, Syrian ostrich, Somali ostrich, ecological niche modelling

The data include mgnified images of ostrich eggshells from museum specimens (© Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London) and from specimens recovered from archaeological excavations and surveys in Israel. Also included are R scripts for analysing the morphological differences between pore patterns of egg fragments, and environmental niche modelling for Struthio camelus syriacus and Struthio molybdophanes.  The workflow files are simplified summaries of the niche modelling and pore pattern analyses.