More notes on the Neolithic & Europe
Reading some stuff on the Neolithic transition. From Neolithic
…Neolithic populations from Europe to Sri Lanka lost an average of two inches in height, and in Japan, there was a two-to-five-year drop in the average age at death for men and a three-year drop for women….…The skeletons of early agriculturalists also exhibit the marks of common nutritional deficiencies like scurvy (vitamin C deficiency)…and rickets (vitamin D deficiency) which stops growing bone from hardening. But the most common problem seems to have been anemia…When people are severely anemic the skull vault and eye sockets because rough, thick and spongy, a condition seen in 60 percent of the eye sockets and 50 percent of the skull vaults a Alepotrypa Cave in Greece and in 42 percent of the skulls in Zawi Chemi Shanidar in Iran….
From The Widening Harvest: The Neolithic Transition in Europe:
…This region [southern Scandinavia] is likely one of the very few places in Europe that supported a substantial indigenous population prior to the transition to agriculture…With only a few exceptions, most of the continent contains little or no indication of occupation during the period just prior to the transition to agriculture…
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…Mesolithic foragers were present in northern Europe from approximately 8500 B.C.-shortly after the close of the Pleistocene-about the same time plants and animals were being domesticated in Southwest Asia. By 5000 B.C., and probably earlier, these groups in southern Scandinavia were intensively occupying the coastal areas, living in permanent villages characterized by deep middens of shell and refuse and substantial cemeteries…Special hunting camps were scattered along the coasts and inland around these residential sites. These groups exploited the resources of both the land and the sea, successfully capturing the large quantities of fish, shellfish, marine animals, large and small game, and birds….
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Agriculture, in the form of domesticated plants and animals, arrived in southern Scandinavian shortly after 4000 B.C. These crops and herd animals are associated with the arrival of the early Neolithic Funnel Neck Beaker (TRB) culture, which likely originated in Poland ca. 4400 B.C. and spread to northern Germany 4200 B.C….
The stuff about the dietary deficiencies are well known. My own interest in vitamin D deficiencies are not focused on rickets; rather, I am curious about the possible relationship between the deficiency, weaker immune systems and the rise of endemic & epidemic diseases. The second book consists of a series of essays which explore the various models for the expansion of the agricultural lifestyle into Europe. Genetic data implies that around 1/4 of the total ancestry of Europeans as a whole is derived from a population signal which originated in Anatolia. That being said, this proportion varies, with far higher proportions along the southeast edge of Europe and far less in the north. The fact that much of Europe was very lightly populated prior to the rise of the farming culture probably is one reason that the genetic signal of the Anatolian cultures is so strong (elsewhere the author of the second quoted passage notes that only two Mediterranean islands were inhabited before the Neolithic).
The second researcher above implies that the spread of agriculture in Scandinavia was almost certainly due to primarily cultural diffusion, taking into account various continuities (artifacts & physical anthropology) as well as the seemingly large native hunter-gatherer population as inferred from settlement sites. It is important to note that human populations were not resident in northern Europe before 8500 B.C. because of the climatic circumstance. Additionally, I wanted to highlight the emphasis on the utilization of sea life for sources of protein, because marine organisms are relatively enriched in vitamin D. The later does note that shellfish were less prominent in Baltic pre-Neolithic sites, so I don’t want to overplay that hand, but, do note that a reliance on fish for protein and a later switch to red meat is also attested for Britain.
Labels: History
Which anemia are those skeletal features indicative of? Iron deficiency or B12 deficiency?
iron is referenced in the text.
Are we seeing more pre-neolithic Scandinavian sites because the Baltic was higher then than now? Stuff at sea level is going to get eroded, except if the sea level drops.
The Baltic transitioning from freshwater lake to sea certainly changed what could live there, which might have something to do with pre-neolithic diets.
Are we seeing more pre-neolithic Scandinavian sites because the Baltic was higher then than now? Stuff at sea level is going to get eroded, except if the sea level drops.
i though scandinavia was still bouncing back from the ice age? so stuff was going up too. but in any case, i’m not an expert, but the stuff i’m reading in the book suggests that mesolithic sites were scarce in lots of inland locations too. in greece and italy humans were really thin on the ground before farming according to the researchers in the book i’m referencing. perhaps an analogy might be the pacific northwest coast vs. inland areas?
the author of the second quoted passage notes that only two Mediterranean islands were inhabited before the Neolithic
Can you please mention those two islands? (I guess Sardinia and Cyprus)
perhaps an analogy might be the pacific northwest coast vs. inland areas?
I, too, was thinking that Scandinavia sounded a lot like the Pacific NW.
What’s the evidence for absence? The absence of evidence, I assume?
I also heard the Vitamin D defiency and advent of agriculture brought on changes in human skin( pale skin adaptation)tones perticular in europe. I find it interesting that the popualtions pre-neolithic were so small and dispersed… What was the average size of a typical mesolithic tribe?
Can you please mention those two islands? (I guess Sardinia and Cyprus)
I don’t think there’s evidence for humans on Cyprus before the neolithic. Anyway, in doing the count you would want to specify whether you’re talking about islands as they were then or islands as they are now; I believe that Sicily and Malta were once joined, as were Corsica and Sardinia. Sicily/Malta and Corsica/Sardinia would be my guess for paleolithic human habitation – I think both of these were connected to the mainland by a land bridge at some point.
What was the average size of a typical mesolithic tribe?
one the essays mentions that there were some settlements in scandinavia on the order of 3,000 of hunter-gatherers. this was apparently (that sounds bigger than many villages to me).
but yeah, in italy and greece the workers seem to imply that mesolithic sites are very scarce, but all of a sudden neolithic sites pop up very quickly.
BTW, have you seen this article on Lactose persistence / Cystic fibrosis tradeoff – it suggests that when a Lactose Intolerant population starts consuming milk regularly, the first beneficial mutations to arise were Cystic Fibrosis – to help against some of the stomach problems caused by drinking raw milk. Later mutations conferring Lactose Tolerance spread…
I’ve read that Ireland is the epicenter of Cystic Fibrosis – so I wonder did dairying come late to Ireland and they are still transitioning to better alleles, or CT reached high percentages in Ireland, before better alleles spread??
Much of scandinavia is still rising from the sea. The speed in the northernmost parts of the Baltic sea is roughly 1cm / year, though this is the extreme case. An example of sea levels in the southern Baltic Sea can be seen at http://www.helsinki.fi/maantiede/geofi/fennia/demo/pages/fig_pages/oksanen_2.htm
More examples and discussion in the article itself http://www.helsinki.fi/maantiede/geofi/fennia/demo/pages/oksanen.htm
Transition from fresh water to salt water and finally to brackish water has naturally changed potential food species. However at least large game like seal have been present at all stages.