To date, the earliest modern human fossils found outside of Africa are dated to around 90,000 to 120,000 years ago at the Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh. A maxilla and associated dentition recently discovered at Misliya Cave, Israel, was dated to 177,000 to 194,000 years ago, suggesting that members of the clade left Africa earlier than previously thought. This finding changes our view on modern human dispersal and is consistent with recent genetic studies, which have posited the possibility of an earlier dispersal of around 220,000 years ago. The Misliya maxilla is associated with full-fledged Levallois technology in the Levant, suggesting that the emergence of this technology is linked to the appearance of in the region, as has been documented in Africa.

A few Republicans agreeing with basic climate research is not an environmental victory.

LF thickness is an age-dependent and gender-independent phenomenon. LF is significantly thicker on the right side. The borderline between normal and pathologic LF thickness should not be set at 4 mm.

The material culture of the Late Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant (4500–3900/3800 BCE) is qualitatively distinct from previous and subsequent periods. Here, to test the hypothesis that the advent and decline of this culture was influenced by movements of people, we generated genome-wide ancient DNA from 22 individuals from Peqi’in Cave, Israel. These individuals were part of a homogeneous population that can be modeled as deriving ~57% of its ancestry from groups related to those of the local Levant Neolithic, ~17% from groups related to those of the Iran Chalcolithic, and ~26% from groups related to those of the Anatolian Neolithic. The Peqi’in population also appears to have contributed differently to later Bronze Age groups, one of which we show cannot plausibly have descended from the same population as that of Peqi’in Cave. These results provide an example of how population movements propelled cultural changes in the deep past.

Although Schmorl's nodes (SNs) are a common phenomenon in the normal adult population, their prevalence is controversial and etiology still debatable. The objective was to establish the spatial distribution of SNs along the spine in order to reveal its pathophysiology. In this study, we examined 240 human skeleton spines (T4-L5) (from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection) for the presence and location of SNs. To determine the exact position of SNs, each vertebral body surface was divided into 13 zones and 3 areas (anterior, middle, posterior). Our results show that SNs appeared more frequently in the T7-L1 region. The total number of SNs found in our sample was 511: 193 (37.7%) were located on the superior surface and 318 (62.3%) on the inferior surface of the vertebral body. SNs were more commonly found in the middle part of the vertebral body (63.7%). No association was found between the SNs location along the spine and gender, ethnicity and age. This study suggests that the frequency distribution of SNs varies with vertebra location and surface. The results do not lend support to the traumatic or disease explanation of the phenomenon. SNs occurrences are probably associated with the vertebra development process during early life, the nucleus pulposus pressing the weakest part of the end plate in addition to the various strains on the vertebrae and the intervertebral disc along the spine during spinal movements (especially torsional movements).

Anatolia was home to some of the earliest farming communities. It has been long debated whether a migration of farming groups introduced agriculture to central Anatolia. Here, we report the first genome-wide data from a 15,000-year-old Anatolian hunter-gatherer and from seven Anatolian and Levantine early farmers. We find high genetic continuity (~80–90%) between the hunter-gatherers and early farmers of Anatolia and detect two distinct incoming ancestries: an early Iranian/Caucasus related one and a later one linked to the ancient Levant. Finally, we observe a genetic link between southern Europe and the Near East predating 15,000 years ago. Our results suggest a limited role of human migration in the emergence of agriculture in central Anatolia.

This paper follows the dramatic changes in scientific research during the last 20 years regarding the relationship between the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and its hosts - bovids and/or humans. Once the M. tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis genomes were sequenced, it became obvious that the old story of M. bovis evolving into the human pathogen should be reversed, as M. tuberculosis is more ancestral than M. bovis. Nevertheless, the timescale and geographical origin remained an enigma. In the current study human and cattle bone samples were examined for evidence of tuberculosis from the site of Atlit-Yam in the Eastern Mediterranean, dating from 9250 to 8160 (calibrated) years ago. Strict precautions were used to prevent contamination in the DNA analysis, and independent centers 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. These, together with pathological changes detected in some of the bones, confirm the presence of the disease in the Levantine populations during the Pre-pottery Neolithic C period, more than 8000 years ago.

Understanding how and to what extent forces applied to the mandible by the masticatory muscles influence its form, is of considerable importance from clinical, anthropological and evolutionary perspectives. This study investigates these questions. Head CT scans of 382 adults were utilized to measure masseter and temporalis muscle cross-sectional areas (CSA) as a surrogate for muscle force, and 17 mandibular anthropometric measurements. Sixty-two mandibles of young individuals (20–40 years) whose scans were without artefacts (e.g., due to tooth filling) were segmented and landmarked for geometric morphometric analysis. The association between shape and muscle CSA (controlled for size) was assessed using two-block partial least squares analysis. Correlations were computed between mandibular variables and muscle CSAs (all controlled for size). A significant association was found between mandibular shape and muscle CSAs, i.e. larger CSAs are associated with a wider more trapezoidal ramus, more massive coronoid, more rectangular body and a more curved basal arch. Linear measurements yielded low correlations with muscle CSAs. In conclusion, this study demonstrates an association between mandibular muscle force and mandibular shape, which is not as readily identified from linear measurements. Retrodiction of masticatory muscle force and so of mandibular loading is therefore best based on overall mandibular shape.