Gradual decline in mobility with the adoption of food production in Europe

Significance Declining mobility levels following the Pleistocene had profound effects on human demography, social organization, and health, but the exact timing and pace of this critical change are unknown. Here we examine direct evidence for changing mobility levels from limb bone structural characteristics in a large sample of European skeletons spanning the past 30,000 y. Our results show that mobility first declined during the Neolithic, at the onset of food production, but that the decline was gradual, continuing for several thousand years as agriculture intensified. No change in relative limb strength occurred during the past 2,000 y. Thus, the more gracile modern human skeleton is a result of increased sedentism tied to food production, not subsequent mechanization and industrialization.