An integrative skeletal and paleogenomic analysis of stature variation suggests relatively reduced health for early European farmers

Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture similar to 12,000 y B.P. This shift is hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a decline in physiological health as inferred from skeletal remains. Here, we consider osteological and ancient DNA data from the same prehistoric individuals to study human stature variation as a proxy for health across a transition to agriculture. Specifically, we compared predicted genetic contributions to height from paleogenomic data and achieved adult osteological height estimated from long bone measurements for 167 individuals across Europe spanning the Upper Paleolithic to Iron Age (similar to 38,000 to 2,400 B.P.). We found that individuals from the Neolithic were shorter than expected (given their individual polygenic height scores) by an average of 23.82 cm relative to individuals from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic (P = 0.040) and 22.21 cm shorter relative to post-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.068), with osteological vs. expected stature steadily increasing across the Copper (+1.95 cm relative to the Neolithic), Bronze (+2.70 cm), and Iron (+3.27 cm) Ages. These results were attenuated when we additionally accounted for genome-wide genetic ancestry variation: for example, with Neolithic individuals 22.82 cm shorter than expected on average relative to pre-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.120). We also incorporated observations of paleopathological indicators of nonspecific stress that can persist from childhood to adulthood in skeletal remains into our model. Overall, our work highlights the potential of integrating disparate datasets to explore proxies of health in prehistory.

Automated summary

The onset of agriculture around 12,000 years ago had a significant impact on human culture, biology, and health. This study examines the variation in human stature as a proxy for health across a transition to agriculture, and finds that individuals from the Neolithic period were shorter than those from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic. However, the stature gradually increased across subsequent ages. These findings highlight the potential of using different datasets to explore health proxies in prehistory.