Socio-cultural practices may have affected sex differences in stature in Early Neolithic Europe.

The rules and structure of human culture impact health as much as genetics or environment. To study these relationships, we combine ancient DNA (n = 230), skeletal metrics (n = 391), palaeopathology (n = 606) and dietary stable isotopes (n = 873) to analyse stature variation in Early Neolithic Europeans from North Central, South Central, Balkan and Mediterranean regions. In North Central Europe, stable isotopes and linear enamel hypoplasias indicate high environmental stress across sexes, but female stature is low, despite polygenic scores identical to males, and suggests that cultural factors preferentially supported male recovery from stress. In Mediterranean populations, sexual dimorphism is reduced, indicating male vulnerability to stress and no strong cultural preference for males. Our analysis indicates that biological effects of sex-specific inequities can be linked to cultural influences at least as early as 7,000 yr ago, and culture, more than environment or genetics, drove height disparities in Early Neolithic Europe.

Ancient genome-wide DNA from France highlights the complexity of interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers.

Starting from 12,000 years ago in the Middle East, the Neolithic lifestyle spread across Europe via separate continental and Mediterranean routes. Genomes from early European farmers have shown a clear Near Eastern/Anatolian genetic affinity with limited contribution from hunter-gatherers. However, no genomic data are available from modern-day France, where both routes converged, as evidenced by a mosaic cultural pattern. Here, we present genome-wide data from 101 individuals from 12 sites covering today's France and Germany from the Mesolithic (N = 3) to the Neolithic (N = 98) (7000-3000 BCE). Using the genetic substructure observed in European hunter-gatherers, we characterize diverse patterns of admixture in different regions, consistent with both routes of expansion. Early western European farmers show a higher proportion of distinctly western hunter-gatherer ancestry compared to central/southeastern farmers. Our data highlight the complexity of the biological interactions during the Neolithic expansion by revealing major regional variations.

Ancient proteins from ceramic vessels at Çatalhöyük West reveal the hidden cuisine of early farmers.

The analysis of lipids (fats, oils and waxes) absorbed within archaeological pottery has revolutionized the study of past diets and culinary practices. However, this technique can lack taxonomic and tissue specificity and is often unable to disentangle signatures resulting from the mixing of different food products. Here, we extract ancient proteins from ceramic vessels from the West Mound of the key early farming site of Çatalhöyük in Anatolia, revealing that this community processed mixes of cereals, pulses, dairy and meat products, and that particular vessels may have been reserved for specialized foods (e.g., cow milk and milk whey). Moreover, we demonstrate that dietary proteins can persist on archaeological artefacts for at least 8000 years, and that this approach can reveal past culinary practices with more taxonomic and tissue-specific clarity than has been possible with previous biomolecular techniques.

Ringen mit dem Unsichtbaren: zur Entstehungsgeschichte einer müglichen medizinischen Deutung von Jakobs Verletzung am Jabbok.

A discrepancy of word choice can be noted in the account of Jacob's wrestling at the river Jabbok (Gen. 32, 23-33) if we compare the Hebrew version on one hand and the Greek and Latin versions on the other. The lesion that incurred Jacob a permanent limp and constitutes the dietary ban on the sciatic nerve is described as a luxation or strain (see symbol) of the hip joint (see symbol) in the Hebrew bible, whereas Septuagint, Vetus Latina and Vulgata use (see symbol) and emarceo or obstipesco as well as (see symbol) and latitudinem faemoris. They thus suggest hints of a painful sensory deficit felt on the outside of the thigh and a paralysis. In a synopsis of knowledge of sciatica in antiquity and modern knowledge on nerve root irritation and compression syndromes, it can be argued that the originators of the Septuagint and subsequent Greek and Latin translators and authors supported their translations with a diagnosis that we today would call an L5-syndrome with sciatica, sensory deficit, weak foot dorsiflexion and Trendelenburg gait.