The Genomic History of the Bronze Age Southern Levant.

We report genome-wide DNA data for 73 individuals from five archaeological sites across the Bronze and Iron Ages Southern Levant. These individuals, who share the "Canaanite" material culture, can be modeled as descending from two sources: (1) earlier local Neolithic populations and (2) populations related to the Chalcolithic Zagros or the Bronze Age Caucasus. The non-local contribution increased over time, as evinced by three outliers who can be modeled as descendants of recent migrants.

A submerged 7000-year-old village and seawall demonstrate earliest known coastal defence against sea-level rise.

We report the results of underwater archaeological investigations at the submerged Neolithic settlement of Tel Hreiz (7500 - 7000 BP), off the Carmel coast of Israel. The underwater archaeological site has yielded well-preserved architectural, artefactual, faunal and human remains. We examine and discuss the notable recent discovery of a linear, boulder-built feature >100m long, located seaward of the settlement.

Incongruity between affinity patterns based on mandibular and lower dental dimensions following the transition to agriculture in the Near East, Anatolia and Europe.

While it has been suggested that malocclusion is linked with urbanisation, it remains unclear as to whether its high prevalence began 8,000 years earlier concomitant with the transition to agriculture. Here we investigate the extent to which patterns of affinity (i.e.

Paleopathology and the origin of agriculture in the Levant.

This study addresses changes in health which were consequential to the Neolithic transition in the southern Levant, judged on the basis of the study of specific and nonspecific stress indicators, trauma, and degenerative joint disease in 200 Natufian (hunter-gatherer) skeletons (10,500-8300 BC) and 205 Neolithic (agricultural) skeletons (8300-5500 BC) from the southern Levant. The comparison of the health profiles of pre-Neolithic (Natufian) and Neolithic populations reveals a higher prevalence of lesions indicative of infectious diseases among the Neolithic population, and an overall reduction in the prevalence of skull trauma among males. No change over time was observed in the prevalence of degenerative joint disease.

Detection and molecular characterization of 9,000-year-old Mycobacterium tuberculosis from a Neolithic settlement in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the principal etiologic agent of human tuberculosis. It has no environmental reservoir and is believed to have co-evolved with its host over millennia. This is supported by skeletal evidence of the disease in early humans, and inferred from M.

Tooth wear and dental pathology at the advent of agriculture: new evidence from the Levant.

Differences in patterns of diet and subsistence through the analysis of dental pathology and tooth wear were studied in skeletal populations of Natufian hunter-gatherers (10,500-8300 BC) and Neolithic populations (8300-5500 BC, noncalibrated) from the southern Levant. 1,160 Natufians and 804 Neolithic teeth were examined for rate of attrition, caries, antemortem tooth loss, calculus, periapical lesions, and periodontal processes. While the Natufian people manifest a higher rate of dental attrition and periodontal disease (36.

Has the transition to agriculture reshaped the demographic structure of prehistoric populations? New evidence from the Levant.

This paper presents the demographic changes that followed the transition from a hunting-gathering way of life (Natufian) to an agricultural, food-producing economy (Neolithic) in the southern Levant. The study is based on 217 Natufian (10,500-8,300 BC) skeletons and 262 Neolithic (8,300-5,500 BC) skeletons. Age and sex identification were carried out, and life tables were constructed.

Musculoskeletal stress markers in Natufian hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers in the Levant: the upper limb.

This paper attempts to quantify the changes in activity patterns of early farming populations in the Levant through the musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM) of the upper limb as seen in skeletal remains. The transition to an agricultural way of life resulted in higher loads on the upper limb in Neolithic populations compared to the Natufian hunter-gatherer populations that preceded them. The MSM pattern for males and females indicates a gender-based division of labor both in the Natufian and the Neolithic.

Button osteoma: its etiology and pathophysiology.

The present study investigates a circumscribed bony overgrowth on the cranial vault, known as button osteoma (BtO) and referred to here as button lesion (BtL). We discuss its anthropological implications. Data on its histology, location, and population distribution (by age, race, and gender) are provided.

Serpens endocrania symmetrica (SES): a new term and a possible clue for identifying intrathoracic disease in skeletal populations.

This paper describes a phenomenon in the endocranial plate, which we have termed "serpens endocrania symmetrica" (SES), and discusses its value as a diagnostic tool. The affected discolored bone area exhibits disruption of the endocranial surface, lending it a maze-like appearance. Histological sections demonstrate that the process is limited to the most superficial portion of the endocranium, with no diploic and ectocranial involvement (sinus areas excepted).