3 documents found, page 1 of 1
Food and farming systems in the Neolithic – an impossible vista?
Smyth, Jessica; Gillis, RosalindThe management and utilisation of mostly novel plant and animal species for food and other products has long been recognised as a central component of the Neolithic. The period has frequently been characterised as marking a tipping point in food procurement activities, a shift that has had a fundamental impact on societies today. While there may be little difference between the modes and means of subsistence st...
Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe
Evershed, Richard P.; Davey Smith, George; Roffet-Salque, Mélanie; Timpson, Adrian; Diekmann, Yoan; Lyon, Matthew S.; Cramp, Lucy J. E.In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years(1). Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions(2,3). Here we provide detaile...
Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers
Roffet-Salque, Mélanie; Regert, Martine; Evershed, Richard P.; Outram, Alan K.; Cramp, Lucy J. E.; Decavallas, Orestes; Dunne, Julie; Gerbault, PascaleThe pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticides, parasites, predators and diseases, have raised awareness of the economic importance and critical role this insect plays in agricultural societies across the globe. However, the association of humans with A. mellifera predates post-industrial-revolution agriculture, as evidenced by the widespread presence of anci...