Trends in Ancient Populations’ Osteobiography during the Holocene: the Levantine Perspective

Abstract

Abstract. The rapid changes in our surroundings during the Holocene challenge the human body. The current study, carried out on the terminal Pleistocene-Holocene populations of the Levant, presents several examples of how changes in the habitation and diet have affected the disease patterns and the gross morphology of long bones and mandibles. Our major findings were that the prehistoric Natufian (67%) and the protohistoric Chalcolithic (80%) populations exhibited a much higher rate of ear inflammation (otitis media) than all other populations: Neolithic, Roman/Byzantine, and Ottoman (50% ± 5%). A general continuous significant decrease in the relative femoral bone cortical area from the Natufian (77.8%) to present times (64.7%) was noticed (the Chalcolithic population was the exception). Mandibular shape has changed considerably, mainly between the pre-agricultural population (the Natufian) and the succeeding ones (i.e., the ramus became taller and narrower, the coronoid higher and pointed, the mandibular notch narrower and deeper, and the body more triangular). Possible behavioral, economic, and environmental factors associated with these changes are discussed.