Open AccessAn integrative skeletal and paleogenomic analysis of stature variation suggests relatively reduced health for early European farmers
Author(s) -
Stephanie Marciniak,
Christina M. Bergey,
Ana María Silva,
Agata Hałuszko,
Mirosław Furmanek,
Barbara Veselka,
Petr Velemínský,
Giuseppe Vercellotti,
Joachim Wahl,
Gunita Zariņa,
Cristina Longhi,
Jan Kolář,
Rafael GarridoPena,
Raúl Flores Fernández,
Ana Mercedes Herrero Corral,
Angela Simalcsik,
Werner A. Müller,
Alison Sheridan,
Žydrūnė Miliauskienė,
Rimantas Jankauskas,
Vyacheslav Moiseyev,
Kitti Köhler,
Ágnes Király,
Beatriz Gamarra,
Olivia Cheronet,
Vajk Szeverényi,
Viktória Kiss,
Tamás Szeniczey,
Krisztián Kiss,
Zsuzsanna K. Zoffmann,
Judit Koós,
Magdolna Hellebrandt,
Robert Maier,
László Domboróczki,
Cristian Virag,
Mario Novak,
David Reich,
Tamás Hajdu,
Noreen von CramonTaubadel,
Ron Pinhasi,
George H. Perry
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2106743119
Subject(s) - osteology , subsistence agriculture , prehistory , agriculture , short stature , biology , geography , demography , zoology , ecology , endocrinology , sociology , paleontology
Significance Subsistence shifts from hunting and gathering to agriculture over the last 12,000 y have impacted human culture, biology, and health. Although past human health cannot be assessed directly, adult stature variation and skeletal indicators of nonspecific stress can serve as proxies for health during growth and development. By integrating paleogenomic genotype and osteological stature data on a per-individual basis for 167 prehistoric Europeans, we observe relatively shorter than expected statures among early farmers after correcting for individual genetic contributions to stature. Poorer nutrition and/or increased disease burdens for early agriculturalists may partly underscore this result. Our integrated osteological–genetic model has exciting potential for studies of past human health and expansion into various other contexts.