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Natufians were cold-adapted
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by zarahan: [QB] Originally posted by the Explorer: [b]*For what it's worth, data referenced by Hershkovitz et al. 1995 puts the brachial index means of the non-Hayonim Natufian samples at 77% and that of Hayonim Natufian samples in the range of 75-78. Apparently, the non-Hayonim collection of Natufian samples report a mean that is greater than that observed for either recent Europeans or Neanderthals. The Hayonim Natufian collection on the other hand is more varied, displaying means that range from those similar to recent Europeans to those similar to tropical African means. No data was given on the crural means. My educated guess is that Natufians are generally likely to display intermediate patterns of limb-proportions between that of tropical African means and those of recent Europeans, and not simplistic as the claim being attributed to Holliday, about Natufians being "cold-adapted". There is nothing particularly cold about the Levant. However, mixed ranges of limb-proportions may reflect biological contributions from groups ultimately originating from differing geographical locations from that of the Levant. *Natufian samples have been collected from several different sites namely: Hayonim cave, Kebara, El-Wad, Shukba, Eynan, and Nahal Oren. They are noticeably varied in their morphological manifestations; see for example... The Natufian poplations sampled in the skeletal assemblages from Hayonim Cave, Kebara, El-Wad, Shukba, Nahal Oren, and Eynan display a significant range of variability in both morphology and size (Table 1; see also Arensburg et al., 1975; Belfer-Cohen et al., 1992; Ladiray and Soliveres-Massei, 1988). To speak about a “Natufian cranial morphotype” is thus simplistic and potentially misleading, although some generalizations can be made. The similarities between Ohalo I1 H2 and the sample of Natufian males is strongest in the configuration of the facial skeleton (e.g., nasal and orbital size, height and breadth of the upper face), while strong differences may be seen in the calvaria. - Hershkovitz et al. 1995 The link provided by Truthcentric mentions nothing about the Natufians to my knowledge. As for the other citation provided without specified context, what indexes is the reader told about - brachial?, crural?, body linearity?, femoral head diameter?, etc. What specific Natufian samples were under study; are there noticeable variations across samples from different sites; is there a dominating trend within one sample vs. that of another sample from a different site, etc? I think these are obvious, if not fair questions to ask, so as to get a firm grip on from what angle the author (in this case Holliday) is arriving at his/her conclusion(s). *Furthermore, there is a bias in the correlative value of limb proportion means. For instance, in all likelihood, tropical body plans are accommodated by considerable eumelanin concentration in the skin, due to the solar radiation intensity of tropical regions. Shorter limb proportions on the other hand, don't correlate as well with possible skin melanin concentration. Think for example, that KhoiSan groups are considerably darker than Europeans, but "sub-tropical" limb proportions have been reported among them. Likewise, although light in tone, the Inuit are still noticeably darker than western Europeans, while displaying fairly small indexes for their limb proportions. So, "cold-adapted" must not be mistaken to mean "white".[/b] Indeed. Truthcentric's post seems similar to arguments on another board which he frequents, where one poster labored heavily to argue for yet another variant of the "incoming whites" theory - only this time, using "cold-adapted" as a code word to signify "white." He was apparently troubled by the case of the Natufians, who are called precursors of a more advanced Neolithic by some writers. To have a culture -wherein so-called "negroid" elements are so well represented - usher in one of the most significant periods in human culture apparently rankled, since it did not fit his "Mediterranean supreme" race model. Said poster drew heavily on the obsolete work of Carleton Coons who in examining one ancient Natufian skull boldly pronounced it "perfectly European." Ironically for the "Mediterranean" model, Coons also held that "Mediterraneans proper" sometimes had "negroid" tendencies. [IMG]http://africanamericanculturalcenterpalmcoast.org/historyafrican/coondebunk.jpg[/IMG] As you say above though "cold adapted" is not at all a designator of "white". Indeed, since Africans vary on so many features, that they would vary on limb proportions is hardly at all surprising, as the example of the San peoples shows. Just as their are African peoples with narrow noses, so there are those with varying limb proportions. In addition, the early peoples of Southwest Asia, according to Hanihara 1996, looked like tropical Africans to begin with, undermining assorted "white" models. Whatever the particular blend that made up the Natufians[URL=http://africanamericanculturalcenterpalmcoast.org/historyafrican/mcoldclimatemesopotamiadebunk.htm],[/URL] over whatever periods, most mainstream scholars agree that they show strong African elements represented. More info from another mainstream writer: [i]"“A late Pleistocene-early Holocene northward migration (from Africa to the Levant and to Anatolia) of these populations has been hypothesized from skeletal data (Angel 1972, 1973; Brace 2005) and from archaeological data, as indicated by the probable Nile Valley origin of the "Mesolithic" (epi-Paleolithic) Mushabi culture found in the Levant (Bar Yosef 1987). This migration finds some support in the presence in Mediterranean populations (Sicily, Greece, southern Turkey, etc.; Patrinos et al.; Schiliro et al. 1990) of the Benin sickle cell haplotype. This haplotype originated in West Africa and is probably associated with the spread of malaria to southern Europe through an eastern Mediterranean route (Salares et al. 2004) following the expansion of both human and mosquito populations brought about by the advent of the Neolithic transition (Hume et al 2003; Joy et al. 2003; Rich et al 1998). "This northward migration of northeastern African populations carrying sub-Saharan biological elements is concordant with the morphological homogeneity of the Natufian populations (Bocquentin 2003), which present morphological affinity with sub-Saharan populations (Angel 1972; Brace et al. 2005). In addition, the Neolithic revolution was assumed to arise in the late Pleistocene Natufians and subsequently spread into Anatolia and Europe (Bar-Yosef 2002), and the first Anatolian farmers, Neolithic to Bronze Age Mediterraneans and to some degree other Neolithic-Bronze Age Europeans, show morphological affinities with the Natufians (and indirectly with sub-Saharan populations; Angel 1972; Brace et al 2005)..”[/i] --F. X. Ricaut, M. Waelkens. (2008). Cranial Discrete Traits in a Byzantine Population and Eastern Mediterranean Population Movements Human Biology. 80:5, pp. 535-564 [/QB][/QUOTE]
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