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Found in lakes and streams, including the Sea of Galilee region, and into parts of Israel, Jordan and Syria today
Jordan Himri feeds on aquatic invertebrates, algae, detritus, and smaller fish in larger individuals

Adults can commonly reach about 40 cm (16 in) in length and occasionally up to 66 cm

It is one of several native barbel‑type cyprinids endemic to the Jordan River basin.

Bronze age finds at Tel Bet Yerah indicate the species was present and exploited in freshwater fishing economies

Similar barbel‑type fish (though not always identifiable specifically to C. canis) were found in carp‑rich Levant assemblages, indicating humans were fishing local cyprinids long before the formal neolithic period in the region.

At Nahal Ein Gev II, a site near the Sea of Galilee archaeologists found that local people preferentially exploited large cyprinid species from the carp family. 12,000 years ago

Fish provided protein and healthy fats
Locals valued freshwater fish for local consumption and reliable food supply.

Nets and traps were likely used
Early sites in the Jordan Valley yielded stone net weights and fishing hooks, indicating active fishing technology roughly contemporaneous with early holocene human occupation.

Spears and hooks/lines may also have been used for larger freshwater fish at shallower edges.

Fish processing and butchery marks on bones at other early Levantine sites show active hunting and processing of freshwater fish using a variety of tools.

It’s reasonable to infer Jordan himri and other freshwater fish were grilled, roasted, or boiled with other staples (bread, plant foods)
Especially as cereal cultivation was part of Neolithic life in the region.

Check out carabarbus canis, or Jordan himri, with some more neolithic architecture today.

Bibliography: Lernau, Omri & Shapiro, Jamie & Paz, Sarit & Greenberg, Raphael. (2021). Fishing, fish consumption, urbanism and migrants at Tel Bet Yerah, 3200–2700 BC. Antiquity. 95. 1-15. 10.15184/aqy.2021.70.

De Lazaro, E. Scientists Find Earliest Evidence of Hominins Cooking with Fire. Sci.News: Breaking Science News. https://www.sci.news/archaeology/earliest-evidence-cooking-11393.html

DNA reveals: ‘Nibbling fish’ in Sea of Galilee were misidentified for years. (n.d.). https://www.timesofisrael.com/dna-reveals-nibbling-fish-in-sea-of-galilee-were-misidentified-for-years/

GOREN, M. (1974). THE FRESHWATER FISHES OF ISRAEL. Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution, 23(2), 67-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/00212210.1974.10688400

Jouladeh-Roudbar A, Kaya C, Vatandoust S, Ghanavi HR. New insights into the phylogeny of Carasobarbus Karaman, 1971 (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) with the description of three new species. Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 18;14(1):21801. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-71463-7. Erratum in: Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 18;14(1):24458. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-75851-x. PMID: 39294222; PMCID: PMC11411057.