Evolution And History

248 CHAPTER 10 | The Neolithic Revolution: The Domestication of Plants and Animals

The Neolithic and

Human Biology

Although we tend to think of the invention of food pro-

duction in terms of its cultural impact, it obviously had

a biological impact as well. From studies of human skele-

tons from Neolithic burials, physical anthropologists have

found evidence for somewhat less mechanical stress on

peoples’ bodies and teeth. Although there are exceptions,

the teeth of Neolithic peoples show less wear, their bones

are less robust, and osteoarthritis (the result of stressed

joint surfaces) is not as marked as in the skeletons of Pa-

leolithic and Mesolithic peoples.

Though Neolithic teeth show less wear, recent discov-

eries from Pakistan provide the earliest evidence of human

dentistry: tiny holes made in the molar teeth of ancient

live humans, with fine flint drills.^24 Whether dentistry ac-

companied an increase in dental decay brought about by

the dietary shift of this period remains to be seen. This

would parallel the clear evidence for a marked overall de-

terioration in health and mortality during the Neolithic.

Anthropologist Anna Roosevelt sums up our knowledge

of this in the following Original Study.

not used by early Neolithic people in the Americas. In-
stead, elaborate pottery was manufactured by hand.
Looms and the hand spindle appeared in the Americas
about 3,000 years ago.
None of these absences indicate any backwardness on
the part of Native American peoples, many of whom, as
we have already seen, were highly sophisticated farmers
and plant breeders. Rather, the effectiveness of existing
practices was such that they continued to be satisfactory.
When food production developed in Mesoamerica and
the Andean highlands, it did so wholly independently
of Europe and Asia, with different crops, animals, and
technologies.
Outside Mesoamerica and the Andean highlands,
hunting, fishing, and the gathering of wild plant foods
remained important elements in the economy of Neo-
lithic peoples in the Americas. Apparently, most
American Indians chose not to entirely switch from a
food-foraging to a food-producing mode of life, even
though maize and other domestic crops came to be cul-
tivated just about everywhere that climate permitted.
The Indian lifeways were so effective, so well integrated
into a complete cultural system, and so environmen-
tally stable that for many of these groups the change to
food production was unnecessary. The stable American
Indian cultures were only disrupted by the arrival of
European explorers who brought disease and devasta-
tion with them.

(^24) Coppa, A., et al. (2006). Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry. Nature 440,
755–756.
Original Study

History of Mortality and Physiological Stress by Anna Roosevelt

Although there is a relative

lack of evidence for the Pa-

leolithic stage, enough skel-

etons have been studied that

it seems clear that seasonal

and periodic physiological

stress regularly affected most

pre historic hunting-gathering

populations, as evidenced

by the presence of enamel

hypoplasias [horizontal linear

defects in tooth enamel] and

Harris lines [horizontal lines

near the ends of long bones].

What also seems clear is

that severe and chronic stress,

with high frequency of hypoplasias,

infectious disease lesions, pathologies

related to iron-deficiency anemia, and

high mortality rates, is not characteristic

of these early populations. There is no

evidence of frequent, severe malnutri-

tion, and so the diet must have been

adequate in calories and other nutrients

most of the time.

During the Mesolithic, the pro-

portion of starch in the diet rose, to

judge from the increased occurrence

of certain dental diseases, but not

enough to create an impoverished

diet. At this time, diets

seem to have been made up

of a rather large number of

foods, so that the failure of

one food source would not

be catastrophic. There is

a possible slight tendency

for Paleolithic people to be

healthier and taller than

Mesolithic people, but there

is no apparent trend toward

increasing physiological

stress during the Mesolithic.

Thus, it seems that both

hunter-gatherers and incipi-

ent agriculturalists regularly

underwent population pressure, but

only to a moderate degree.

During the periods when effec-

tive agriculture first comes into use,

there seems to be a temporary upturn

in health and survival rates in a few

regions: Europe, North America, and

Harris lines near the ends of these youthful thigh bones, found

in a prehistoric farming community in Arizona, are indicative of

recovery after growth arrest, caused by famine or disease.

© Alan H. Goodman, Hampshire College