Vered Eshed

Detection and Molecular Characterization of 9000-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. tuberculosis genomic analysis. Direct examination of ancient human remains for M. tuberculosis biomarkers should aid our understanding of the nature of prehistoric tuberculosis and the host/pathogen relationship. Methodology/Principal Findings We used conventional PCR to examine bone samples with typical tuberculosis lesions from a woman and infant, who were buried together in the now submerged site of Atlit-Yam in the Eastern Mediterranean, dating from 9250-8160 years ago. Rigorous precautions were taken to prevent contamination, and independent centers were used to confirm authenticity of findings. DNA from five M tuberculosis genetic loci was detected and had characteristics consistent with extant genetic lineages. High performance liquid chromatography was used as an independent method of verification and it directly detected mycolic acid lipid biomarkers, specific for the M. tuberculosis complex. Conclusions/Significance Human tuberculosis was confirmed by morphological and molecular methods in a population living in one of the first villages with evidence of agriculture and animal domestication. The widespread use of animals was not a source of infection but may have supported a denser human population that facilitated transmission of the tubercle bacillus. The similarity of the M. tuberculosis genetic signature with those of today gives support to the theory of a long-term co-existence of host and pathogen.

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. These results indicate that in the southern Levant the Neolithic transition did not simply lead to an overall deterioration in health but rather resulted in a complex health profile which was shaped by 1) an increase exposure to disease agents, 2) changes in diet, 3) population aggregation in larger and denser settlements, 4) changes in activity patterns and the division of labor, and possibly 5) a higher resistant immunological system and response capacity to environmental aggressions (mainly infections).

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., among-population distances), based on mandibular form and dental dimensions, respectively, match across Epipalaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic samples from the Near East/Anatolia and Europe. Analyses were conducted using morphological distance matrices reflecting dental and mandibular form for the same 292 individuals across 21 archaeological populations. Thereafter, statistical analyses were undertaken on four sample aggregates defined on the basis of their subsistence strategy, geography, and chronology to test for potential differences in dental and mandibular form across and within groups. Results show a clear separation based on mandibular morphology between European hunter-gatherers, European farmers, and Near Eastern transitional farmers and semi-sedentary hunter-gatherers. In contrast, the dental dimensions show no such pattern and no clear association between the position of samples and their temporal or geographic attributes. Although later farming groups have, on average, smaller teeth and mandibles, shape analyses show that the mandibles of farmers are not simply size-reduced versions of earlier hunter-gatherer mandibles. Instead, it appears that mandibular form underwent a complex series of shape changes commensurate with the transition to agriculture that are not reflected in affinity patterns based on dental dimensions. In the case of hunter-gatherers there is a correlation between inter-individual mandibular and dental distances, suggesting an equilibrium between these two closely associated morphological units. However, in the case of semi-sedentary hunter-gatherers and farming groups, no such correlation was found, suggesting that the incongruity between dental and mandibular form began with the shift towards sedentism and agricultural subsistence practices in the core region of the Near East and Anatolia.

Comment on “Holocene tsunamis from Mount Etna and the fate of Israeli Neolithic communities” by Maria Teresa Pareschi, Enzo Boschi, and Massimiliano Favalli

[1] Pareschi et al. [2007] (hereafter referred to as PBF07) suggested that the tsunami generated by the collapse of Mount Etna ca. 8,300 yr B.P., destroyed the Neolithic village of Atlit-Yam on the Israeli coast. The main issues raised by PBF07 are examined here as they relate to finds from the site, as well as from other inland Neolithic sites from the Levant. [2] Pareschi et al. [2006] first suggested that the tsunami occurred ca. 8,000–7,500 yr B.P. and later PBF07 shifted the date to 8,300 yr B.P, but no explanation for this shift was offered. If the tsunami occurred at 8,000–7,500 yr B.P., then sediments from Water Well 11 which date to 8,370– 8,210 yr B.P. (Figure 1) (but which are said to be tsunami related according to PBF07) would have actually pre-dated the assumed tsunami. (All dates are calibrated years B.P., groups of dates from the same structure were averaged with ±1sigma. Dating by E. Boaretto, Radio-carbon Dating Laboratory, Weizmann I nstitute, Israel.) Simi lar sediments from Water Well 66 dated to 8,640–8,540 yr B.P. [Galili et al., 2002] and the concentrations of fish bones and wheat from Locus 10/A dated to 8,425–8,360 yr B.P. also pre-date the tsunami (Figure 1). Alternately, if the tsunami destroyed the village in 8,300 yr B.P. (PBF07), how can the settlement exhibit an uninterrupted sequence of occupation from ca. 9,400 to 8,000 yr B.P.? [Galili et al., 2002] (Figure 1). The same argument applies to the more recent proposed Etna cone collapse of 7,590 ± 130 B.P. [Calvari and Groppelli, 1996]. As noted above, this event also post-dates many of the so-called ‘tsunami features’ identified by PBF07. The end of the occupation of Atlit-Yam ca. 8,000 BP, clearly relates to a well-documented Mediterranean sea level rise following the end of the last glaciation [Bard et al., 1996; Galili et al., 2005a]. [3] The human skeletal pathologies identified at AtlitYam are mainly associated with infectious diseases resulting from chronic health problems and dental diseases, and are not associated with natural disaster. ‘‘Fresh’’ injuries relating to trauma, which are expected to be found on victims of such a violent event, were not detected. Loss of teeth and partially burnt bones, both features specified by PBF07 as tsunami related, are in fact common in Neolithic human osteological assemblages in the region [Hershkovitz and Galili, 1990]. [4] Burial practices at Atlit-Yam were similar to those identified in other Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) sites in the Levant. Most of the human skeletal material was recovered from formally prepared graves with the deceased interred in a flexed position [Galili et al., 2005b]. Isolated bones were found throughout the site but represent primary graves disturbed in antiquity by human activities such as building, as well as more recent marine agents. Such isolated human bones are common in other submerged Pottery Neolithic (PN) sites [Galili et al., 1998], as well as terrestrial PPN sites. [5] In all features the faunal assemblage resembles that reported for neighboring submerged PN sites [Horwitz et al., 2006] and other Levantine PPN sites. It clearly differs from assemblages that have undergone sudden and violent catastrophes, where animal bones are usually found in anatomical articulation [Lyman, 1994]. About half of the animal bones bear cut marks attesting to intentional butchery, which in turn indicates that they represent food refuse and not natural mortalities. Moreover, the species and age distribution of animals does not resemble that expected for a catastrophic population, but points to selection and management of a limited range of taxa for meat production [Horwitz and Tchernov, 1987; Galili et al., 1993]. [6] The concentrations of fish bones and cereal grains, cited by PBF07 as evidence for the sudden abandonment of the site, differ in nature and each appears to have accumulated at a different time [Galili et al., 2004]. Such food concentrations have been reported from terrestrial PPN villages in the southern Levant and represent food stores that had not been consumed. [7] The use of abandoned installations and water wells as garbage pits is a common phenomenon in prehistoric sites throughout the Eastern Mediterranean (e.g., Mylouthkia, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 35, L08311, doi:10.1029/2008GL033445, 2008 Click Here for Full Article

Atlit-Yam: A Unique 9000 Year Old Prehistoric Village Submerged off the Carmel Coast, Israel – The SPLASHCOS Field School (2011)

The site of Atlit-Yam is one of the best preserved and most thoroughly investigated submerged prehistoric settlements in the world, with a wealth of finds of material culture and organic remains characteristic of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic village based on a mixed economy of farming and fishing 9000 years ago. Stone-lined water wells were also found, providing a precise measure of sea-level position when the site was in use, as well as a megalithic structure and human burials. Eventually the site was abandoned in the face of progressive sea-level rise, and later Neolithic settlements, were occupied at a higher level, and are now submerged closer to the shore. SPLASHCOS funding to support a Training School, allowed renewed investigations in 2011, providing an unusual opportunity for early stage researchers to gain experience and training on a submerged prehistoric settlement which also resulted in the discovery of some new features. This chapter provides a summary of the finds recovered from Atlit-Yam, the evidence for sea-level change, and a detailed description of the methods used in underwater survey and excavation.

Submerged Pottery Neolithic Settlements off the Coast of Israel: Subsistence, Material Culture and the Development of Separate Burial Grounds

Eight inundated archaeological sites dating to the Pottery Neolithic period (Wadi Rabah culture), 8000–6500 cal. BP, have been exposed under water off the Carmel coast of Israel. The sites represent in situ settlements with architectural remains comprising domestic stone-built structures and water wells built of wood and stone. Rich assemblages of flint tools, ground stone artefacts and pottery were recovered in addition to organic remains (wooden bowls, baskets etc.). Faunal and botanical remains demonstrate that the subsistence economy consisted of animal husbandry, hunting and fishing complemented by cultivation of domestic crops and gathering of wild plants. Special features include the beginning of olive oil extraction, a major component of the Mediterranean subsistence economy, demonstrated at the site of Kfar Samir, while at the Neve-Yam site, the earliest separate burial ground in the region was found with a concentration of stone-built cist graves.