Although Middle Paleolithic (MP) hominin diets consisted mainly of ungulates, increasing evidence demonstrates that hominins at least occasionally consumed tortoises, birds, leporids, fish, and carnivores. Until now, the MP zooarchaeological record in the Zagros Mountains has been almost exclusively restricted to ungulates. The narrow range of hominin prey may reflect socioeconomic decisions and/or environmental constraints, but could also result from a research bias favoring the study of large prey, since archaeologists have undertaken no systematic taphonomic analyses of small game or carnivores in the region. Here, we report on the first comprehensive taphonomic analysis of an MP faunal assemblage from Ghar-e Boof (∼ 81–45 kyr), a Late Pleistocene site in the southern Zagros of Iran. Anthropogenic bone surface modifications point to hominins as the main agent of accumulation. Hominins preyed primarily on ungulates, particularly wild goat. However, we also found evidence for MP hominin exploitation of carnivores and tortoises at the site. Although small game represents only a minor portion of the diet, our results suggest that the hunting behavior of MP hominins in the Zagros was more diverse than previously thought, similar to what we find elsewhere in Eurasia.

尽管旧石器时代中期（MP）古人类的饮食主要由有蹄类动物组成，但越来越多的证据表明，古人类至少偶尔会吃乌龟、鸟类、兔科动物、鱼类和食肉动物。到目前为止，MP 扎格罗斯山脉的动物考古记录几乎完全局限于有蹄类动物。古人类猎物范围狭窄可能反映了社会经济决策和/或环境限制，但也可能是由于偏向研究大型猎物的研究偏见造成的，因为考古学家尚未对该地区的小型猎物或食肉动物进行系统的埋藏学分析。在这里，我们报告了对来自伊朗扎格罗斯南部更新世晚期遗址Ghar-e Boof（约81-45 kyr）的 MP 动物群的首次全面埋藏学分析。人为骨表面修饰表明古人类是积累的主要因素。古人类主要捕食有蹄类动物，特别是野山羊。然而，我们还在现场发现了 MP 古人类剥削食肉动物和陆龟的证据。尽管小猎物仅占饮食的一小部分，但我们的研究结果表明，扎格罗斯地区 MP 古人类的狩猎行为比之前想象的更加多样化，类似于我们在欧亚大陆其他地方发现的情况。