1-Basic Database of Nile Valley Studies

[zarahan]

To the world's largest earthwork in Benin , could be added perhaps the largest single stone
sculpture on Earth, found in Ethiopia, which is in "Sub-Saharan" Africa.
QUOTE:

""The early Askumites built in stone. They erected massive carved monoliths
over the graves of their leaders (one was 33 meters long and weighed over 700 tonnes,
arguably the largest single piece of worked stone ever hewn."
(John Reader, 1998. Africa: The Biography of the continent. pg 208).



^^The tallest and largest oblelisk is greater than the above, at 97 feet tall.



"Perhaps the most spectacular achievements of the Aksumite kingdom were the construction of the great monoliths, of which the example taken by the Italians was the finest. Over 100 such monoliths once stood in Aksum. Carved from hard granite-like rock, the obelisks were erected as funerary markers, or stelae, for deceased members of the aristocracy. The seven largest and most intricately carved obelisks were erected by Ezana, the King of Aksum who converted to Christianity in 325 CE. The carvings depict windows and doors to create the illusion that the obelisks were, in fact, buildings. Funded by trade in such luxuries as turtle shells, ivory, obsidian, rhino horns, emeralds, cattle, and gold, the obelisks are testament to the skill of the Aksumite quarrymen, engineers, and stone carvers, as well as to the power of their rulers. The prosperity and reputation of Aksum was such that, by the third century CE, the Persian philosopher Mani described it as one of the four greatest kingdoms in the world, along with Rome, China, and Persia."
--Kate Prendergast 2005, After: Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Foundations of Aksumite Civilization and Its Christian Legacy (First–Seventh Centuries)” and Munro-Hay, Stuart, 1991. “Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity”
www.elginism.com/similar-cases/what-are-the-axum-obelisks/20050707/161/#sthash.rx8PgodH.dpuf





"n an expansive field on Aksum's northern edge stand the ancient city's most renowned surviving monuments, a group of memorial obelisks, or stelae, erected between the third and fourth centuries A.D. Although other Aksumite stelae fields such as the Gudit field are known, none possess the great variety of form and scale present here, ranging from relatively rough-hewn stone blocks of three feet in length to a now fallen tour de force intended to tower ninety-seven feet high. The stelae were carved mainly from solid blocks of nepheline syenite, a weather-resistant rock similar in appearance to granite, and are believed to have come from the quarries of Wuchate Golo several miles to the west of Aksum. After being cut from the rock walls there, they would have been dragged by organized manpower to the site of their installation, where finer carving awaited a few of the stelae. The impetus for this organizational effort appears to have been commemorative: there are many burials in this area and elaborate tombs are situated near the foremost group of the largest stelae. The wide variation in size and carving sophistication is most likely due to the varying degrees of social status and wealth of the deceased. Although the identities of the persons who sponsored them are not known, the tallest stelae probably commemorated royalty while smaller works were most likely commissioned by local elite."
FROM: Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. "The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th century)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aksu_2/hd_aksu_2.htm (October 2000)

www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aksu_2/hd_aksu_2.htm

[zarahan]

2014 dental study finds continuity in Nubian and Nile Valley civilization not foreign influx.
As documented in numerous other studies, Nubians and Egyptians had close relations



Abstract
"The origins of one of the most powerful sociopolitical entities of the Nile Valley, the Napatan State (850–650 BCE), are debated. Some scholars have suggested local development of this influential Nubian State, while others propose foreign involvement. This study uses a bioarchaeological approach to examine the biological affinity of these Ancient Nubians. The focal site of this research, Tombos, is one of few non-central Napatan Period sites that have been excavated and can, therefore, shed light on the broader Napatan populace. Dental non-metric trait frequencies were examined in the Tombos sample as well as in 12 comparative samples to elucidate the biological affinities of these populations.

Analyses indicate that Tombos dental non-metric trait frequencies were not significantly different from the majority of Egyptian and Nubian samples examined here. Therefore, we propose that gene flow, encouraged by long-term coexistence and intermarriage in Nubia, created an Egyptian/Nubian transcultural environment. These findings suggest the Napatan population at Tombos included descendants of Egyptians and Nubians. The Napatan Tombos sample was found to significantly differ from the latter Kushite and Meroitic samples; however, these samples are so temporally removed from the Napatan Period, we suspect subsequent episodes of population movement may have contributed to this variation."


Introduction

Beginning in the 9th century BCE, a strong and unified sociopolitical front, known as the Napatan State, emerged in ancient Nubia. Centered at the capital city of Napata (Fourth Cataract), the Napatan State quickly became expansive and conquered Egypt (c. 760 BCE). Napatan rulers initiated the 25th Dynasty of Pharaohs and legitimized their foreign rule by portraying themselves as the ‘saviors’ of Egyptian culture ( Morkot, 2000). These pharaohs are known for complexly interweaving both Egyptian and Nubian cultural characteristics into their burials, architecture, art, and dress/jewelry ( Patterson, 2004 and Smith, 1998). At this time, the Napatan State was the largest polity to have existed in the Nile Valley, extending from the Mediterranean to what is today Central Sudan; it would continue to hold this designation until the Medieval Period (c. 500; O’Connor, 1993)..."

--Schradera et al. 2014. Illuminating the Nubian ‘Dark Age’- A bioarchaeological analysis of dental non-metric traits during the Napatan Period. HOMO - Journal of Comparative Human Biology. Volume 65, Issue 4, Pages 267–280

[zarahan]

Genetic diversity of Berbers in Africa - they are not one monolithic looking type



QUOTE: “Our results show that North-Africans have, in the total mitochondrial diversity, an intermediate position between European and sub-Saharan populations. We also see a genetic differentiation between North-Western and North-Eastern African groups: populations from Maghreb are related to European and Middle Eastern populations whereas High Egyptians share more affinities with sub-Saharans and East Africans. Our data also reveal a clear and significant genetic differentiation between Berbers from Maghreb and Egyptian Berbers, the latter sharing more affinities with East-African populations. --Coudray et al (2009) The mitochondrial lineages and history of population genetics Berber North Africa . Antropo, 18, ​​63-72.



more DNA info..

[zarahan]

^^These Kushite guys of the 25th Dynasty are Latecomers.
Approximately 800 years BEFORE, Kushite armies almost destroyed Egypt.
See article on Sobeknakht below.

[zarahan]

2014 Italian research shows close relations between
Nubian and Egyptian cultures



QUOTE:
"The distinction between an Egyptian and a Nubian
identity is something connected to the rise of
the Naqada culture in the first half of the fourth
millennium BCE. During the previous millennium
such a distinction would have not made sense. As
previously stated, the Tarifian, Badarian and Tasian
cultures of Middle and Upper Egypt have strong
ties with rhe Nubian/Nilotic pastoral tradition,a
as can be inferred, for instance, by the very
similar pottery, economy and settlement pattern
and by the latest findings in the deserts surrounding
the Egyptian Nile valley (Gatto 2011b, 2012a, b, 2013). "

FROM:
--Maria Gatto 2014. Cultural entanglement at the
dawn of the Egyptian history: A View from the Nile
First Cataract Region (IN: Origini - XXXVI: 93-123-
Preistoria e protostoria delle civiltà antiche).

[zarahan]

NOTES ON ANCIENT EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE

African Farmers did not have the "easy time" some claim. They did not sit around
and merely wait for the Nile to rise, throw some seeds and retire to drink
beer until harvest. It was hard work. The land had to be tilled and divided into basins-
(decrue or basin agriculture, a technique often seen in other parts of Africa). Canals,
levees and dams had to be dug, constructed and maintained to capture the flood waters
in the basins. Spillways and siphon canals had to be made and maintained to siphon off
excess water as the flood receded. And the whole system had to be calibrated carefully,
including water levels and seasonal indicators such as the positioning of various astronomical
data to ensure a smooth planting season. Failure to be prepared, could mean hunger or starvation.

Note scholar Trigger below says that the mere silt of the Nile was not the key to farming.
Nile silt yielded a small level of nutrients. What kept Egyptian fields in business
was fallow periods, crop rotation, and the manure of tens of thousands of farm animals,
managed for just that purpose, among others. Oh and on top of all this, there were quite a few
building projects going on.. There was no "easy time" to be had in the agriculture of
the ancient Nile Valley..

[zarahan]

CREDIT:

Originally posted by Ish Gebor:
[QB]

Miguel Botella Lopez

Two skulls excavated from the Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis in Egypt.

By Stephanie Pappas

LiveScience






Even the best-off ancient Egyptians suffered from malnutrition and preventable disease, a new analysis of mummies and skeletons finds.

The bodies come from the Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis, which is near the modern city of Aswan in southern Egypt. Constructed in the 12th dynasty (between 1939 B.C. and 1760 B.C.) and reused in later periods, the necropolis contains remains of people from across the social spectrum.

An analysis of more than 200 of these bodies, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, finds that wealth did not necessarily buy health in ancient Egypt.

"Although the cultural level of the age was extraordinary, the anthropological analysis of the human remains reveals the population in general, and the governors — the highest social class — lived in conditions in which their health was very precarious, on the edge of survival," study researcher Miquel Botella Lopez of the University of Granada said in a statement.

Life expectancy was only about 30 years, the researchers found, thanks to a high infant mortality rate, malnutrition and gastrointestinal infections caused by drinking polluted Nile waters. A great many of the dead in the necropolis were between 17 and 25 years old, the researchers announced Wednesday.

science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/06/17213691-ancient-mummies-show-even-rich-egyptians-could-be-in-poor-health?lite


UNIVERSITY OF GRANADA


www.ujaen.es/investiga/qubbetelhawa/en/index.php


[/QB]

[zarahan]

Conservative Encyclopedia shows Ancient Egyptian religion derives
from African foundation:

"A large number of gods go back to prehistoric times. The images of a cow
and star goddess (Hathor), the falcon (Horus), and the human-shaped
figures of the fertility god (Min) can be traced back to that period. Some
rites, such as the "running of the Apil-bull," the "hoeing of the ground,"
and other fertility and hunting rites (e.g., the hippopotamus hunt)
presumably date from early times.. Connections with the religions in
southwest Asia cannot be traced with certainty."

"It is doubtful whether Osiris can be regarded as equal to Tammuz or
Adonis, or whether Hathor is related to the "Great Mother."
There are closer relations with northeast African religions. The numerous
animal cults (especially bovine cults and panther gods)
and details of ritual dresses (animal tails, masks, grass aprons, etc)
probably are of African origin. The kinship in particular shows
some African elements, such as the king as the head ritualist (i.e.,
medicine man), the limitations and renewal of the reign (jubilees,
regicide), and the position of the king's mother (a matriarchal element).
Some of them can be found among the Ethiopians in Napata and Meroe,
others among the Prenilotic tribes (Shilluk).“

--Encyclopedia Britannica 1984 ed. Macropedia Article, Vol 6: "Egyptian
Religion" , pg 506-508



Conservative scholars show numerous links between Ancient Egyptian
and African cultures

".. but his [Frankfort's] frequent citations from African ethnography- over
60 are listed in the index- demonstrate that there is a powerful resonance
between recent African concepts and practice on one hand, and ancient
Egyptian kingship and religion on the other.."

Rowlands (Chapter 4) provides much additional evidence suggesting that
'sub-Saharan Africa and Ancient Egypt share certain commonalities in
substantiative images and ideas, yet whose cultural forms display
differences consistent with perhaps millennia of historical divergence and
institutionalization'.

"First, kingship in Egypt was 'the channel through which the powers of
nature flowed into the body politic to bring human endeavour to fruition'
and thus was closely analogous to the widespread African belief that
'chieftains entertain closer relationship with the powers in nature than
other men' (Frankfort 1948: 33, ch. 2). Second, the Egyptian king's
metaphorical identification as an all powerful bull who tramples his
enemies and inseminates his cow-mother to achieve regeneration was
derived from Egyptian ideas and beliefs abut cattle for which best parallels
can be found in some, but not all, recent African societies.."

"Like the chiefs discussed by Rowlands, the king combines 'life giving
forces with the power to kill" (Rowlands, Chapter 4:52). Overall, this
Egyptian concept of kingship, so akin to African models, seems very
different to that held in the ancient Near East (Frankfort 1948; Postgate
1995)"

"In conclusion, there is a relative abundance of ancient materials relevant
to contact and influence, as well as striking correlations between ancient
Egyptian civilization and the ethnography of recent and current
sub-Saharan communities, chiefdoms and states... Perhaps the fact that
commonalities do exist suggests that, because of great time depth and
different organization, these commonalities may result from inherently
African processes."
--David O'Connor, Andrew Reid (2007) ANCIENT EGYPT IN AFRICA.
pp 15-22


Conservative Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt shows ancient
Egypt derived from an African cultural foundation

“The evidence also points to linkages to other northeast African peoples,
not coincidentally approximating the modern range of languages closely
related to Egyptian in the Afro-Asiatic group (formerly called
Hamito-Semetic). These linguistic similarities place ancient Egyptian in a
close relationship with languages spoken today as far west as Chad, and as
far south as Somalia. Archaeological evidence also strongly supports an
African origin. A widespread northeastern African cultural assemblage,
including distinctive multiple barbed harpoons and pottery decorated with
dotted wavy line patterns, appears during the early Neolithic (also known
as the Aqualithic, a reference to the mild climate of the Sahara at this
time). Saharan and Sudanese rock art from this time resembles early
Egyptian iconography. Strong connections between Nubian (Sudanese)
and Egyptian material culture continue in later Neolithic Badarian culture
of Upper Egypt. Similarities include black-topped wares, vessels with
characteristic ripple-burnished surfaces, a special tulip-shaped vessel with
incised and white-filled decoration, palettes, and harpoons...

Other ancient Egyptian practices show strong similarities to modern
African cultures including divine kingship, the use of headrests, body art,
circumcision, and male coming-of-age rituals, all suggesting an African
substratum or foundation for Egyptian civilization.."
-- Oxford Encyclopedia of ancient Egypt, Vol 3.2001. p.28

[anastasiaescrava]

Oct 18, 2015 18:55:05 GMT -5 zarahan said:

Genetic diversity of Berbers in Africa - they are not one monolithic looking type



QUOTE: “Our results show that North-Africans have, in the total mitochondrial diversity, an intermediate position between European and sub-Saharan populations. We also see a genetic differentiation between North-Western and North-Eastern African groups: populations from Maghreb are related to European and Middle Eastern populations whereas High Egyptians share more affinities with sub-Saharans and East Africans. Our data also reveal a clear and significant genetic differentiation between Berbers from Maghreb and Egyptian Berbers, the latter sharing more affinities with East-African populations. --Coudray et al (2009) The mitochondrial lineages and history of population genetics Berber North Africa . Antropo, 18, ​​63-72.



^^In Egypt, Berbers cluster more with Sub-Saharan Africans

Do you have a website? Pics not showing 

[zarahan]

Dec 28, 2015 18:41:25 GMT -5 anastasiaescrava said:

Oct 18, 2015 18:55:05 GMT -5 zarahan said:

Genetic diversity of Berbers in Africa - they are not one monolithic looking type



QUOTE: “Our results show that North-Africans have, in the total mitochondrial diversity, an intermediate position between European and sub-Saharan populations. We also see a genetic differentiation between North-Western and North-Eastern African groups: populations from Maghreb are related to European and Middle Eastern populations whereas High Egyptians share more affinities with sub-Saharans and East Africans. Our data also reveal a clear and significant genetic differentiation between Berbers from Maghreb and Egyptian Berbers, the latter sharing more affinities with East-African populations. --Coudray et al (2009) The mitochondrial lineages and history of population genetics Berber North Africa . Antropo, 18, ​​63-72.



^^In Egypt, Berbers cluster more with Sub-Saharan Africans

Do you have a website? Pics not showing 

Let me check on those pics. Site:
www.geocities.ws/nilevalleypeoples/quotes.htm

[zarahan]

West Africans already had writing in place BEFORE Arabs showed up.



"However, such systems are also found in areas where Muslim influence has been less strong or is unlikely. Thus, among the Ashanti and other Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Cote D'Ivorie, where gold was of great political, economic and symbolic significance, many goldweights bore signs that indicated their precise ponderal value; other signs corresponded to proverbs, while others represented concepts (for example, certain aspects of the Supreme Being). The nsibidi system of the Ekoi, Igbo and Ibibio peoples of the Cross River area of present-day Nigeria used over a thousand signs to represent a considerable number of concepts as well as some sounds. Nsibidi was used to record court cases and convey complex messages, including warnings in wartime, and for summarizing folktales and personal narratives; its pictograms thus constituted a true writing system. As with the Malian systems of graphic signs, knowledge of nsibidi was often acquired within the initiation societies, but unlike the Malian ones, nsibidi signs were often tattooed on the body or dramatically enacted through gestures."
--Kevin Shllingford (2004) "Literacy and Indigenous Scripts: Pre-colonial West Africa" - Encyclopedia of African History

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newsbriefs
First Alphabet Found in Egypt Volume 53 Number 1, January/February 2000
by Elizabeth J. Himelfarb

Along an ancient road in Egypt's western desert at the Wadi el Hol (Gulch of Terror), Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell have discovered two inscriptions representing the earliest-known phonetic alphabet. The script, which incorporates elements of earlier hieroglyphs and later Semitic characters, was carved into a natural limestone wall alongside hundreds of Egyptian inscriptions about 4,000 years ago.

Although a few glyphs look familiar to readers of semitic languages and ancient Egyptian, the alphabet has not yet been deciphered. "Within a couple seconds you realize it's pretty odd-looking," says John Darnell.

Experts agree the alphabetic entries were inscribed around 1800 B.C., the mid-range date of the Egyptian graffiti on the wall. The forms of the Egyptian characters in the alphabetic inscriptions offer evidence for the date the script was created. "Looking at the feet of the seated-human signs and the way the head is made point to around 2000 B.C.," says John Darnell. The water sign, usually horizontal, appears vertical. "The Egyptians only wrote that way in the early Middle Kingdom [the mid-twenty-second century B.C.], so the alphabet may have existed for two or three centuries before these inscriptions were made.

Nearby nineteenth-century B.C. inscriptions written inside the carving of a ship's sail refer to an Egyptian named Bebi who was "General of Asiatics," likely Semites. In the Middle Kingdom, Semitic mercenaries and brigands were conscripted into the Egyptian army. Bebi was probably the commander of a band of Bedouins who might have served a paramilitary function--road upkeep, border protection, or maintaining water depots. Tantalizingly, the text also mentions a "Scribe of the Asiatics."

John Darnell is quick to correct a leap made by other news media, which, in heralding the new discovery, called the phonetic alphabet a "hallmark of civilization." Although an alphabet is easy to learn, allowing the rapid spread of writing among people with no writing system, a phonetic/ideographic mix, like the hieroglyphic script, conveys more than a purely phonetic system, Darnell says. "In Egyptian they can express a great many things--there is a choice in spelling, you can add a pictorial level, writing in itself becomes decorative. An alphabet is less informative." The modern bias that phonetics are a higher evolution of ideographs has made scholars reluctant to look for the roots of phonetics in Egypt, John Darnell explains, since a phonetic alphabet was not used there until the Coptic period. The assumption was that if Egyptians had developed an alphabetic script, surely they would have used it. "In truth," he says, " it's an unnecessary thing in Egypt."

The Darnells have surveyed old caravan routes for seven seasons, camping in the desert where temperatures can reach 140° in the summer and become "almost frigidly cold" during the winter, John Darnell says. "I almost always wear long pants because of scorpions and things," he says. The pair have been trying to determine which were used by ancient Egyptians and racing to record the thousands of inscriptions at hundreds of sites.

"The inscriptions have been under attack by thieves who vandalize them in their free time," says John Darnell. Returning each year to find more writing erased has taken its toll on him. "I think I'll get to the point where I can't go back anymore," he says.
-----
© 2000 by the Archaeological Institute of America
archive.archaeology.org/0001/newsbriefs/egypt.html

[nebsen]

Dec 5, 2015 12:54:00 GMT -5 zarahan said:

2014 Italian research shows close relations between
Nubian and Egyptian cultures



QUOTE:
"The distinction between an Egyptian and a Nubian
identity is something connected to the rise of
the Naqada culture in the first half of the fourth
millennium BCE. During the previous millennium
such a distinction would have not made sense. As
previously stated, the Tarifian, Badarian and Tasian
cultures of Middle and Upper Egypt have strong
ties with rhe Nubian/Nilotic pastoral tradition,a
as can be inferred, for instance, by the very
similar pottery, economy and settlement pattern
and by the latest findings in the deserts surrounding
the Egyptian Nile valley (Gatto 2011b, 2012a, b, 2013). "

FROM:
--Maria Gatto 2014. Cultural entanglement at the
dawn of the Egyptian history: A View from the Nile
First Cataract Region (IN: Origini - XXXVI: 93-123-
Preistoria e protostoria delle civiltà antiche).

Is this book in English or Italian only. ?

I think its Italian with a translation floating around someplace.

[anastasiaescrava]

Dec 29, 2015 17:49:14 GMT -5 zarahan said:

West Africans already had writing in place BEFORE Arabs showed up.



"However, such systems are also found in areas where Muslim influence has been less strong or is unlikely. Thus, among the Ashanti and other Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana and Cote D'Ivorie, where gold was of great political, economic and symbolic significance, many goldweights bore signs that indicated their precise ponderal value; other signs corresponded to proverbs, while others represented concepts (for example, certain aspects of the Supreme Being). The nsibidi system of the Ekoi, Igbo and Ibibio peoples of the Cross River area of present-day Nigeria used over a thousand signs to represent a considerable number of concepts as well as some sounds. Nsibidi was used to record court cases and convey complex messages, including warnings in wartime, and for summarizing folktales and personal narratives; its pictograms thus constituted a true writing system. As with the Malian systems of graphic signs, knowledge of nsibidi was often acquired within the initiation societies, but unlike the Malian ones, nsibidi signs were often tattooed on the body or dramatically enacted through gestures."
--Kevin Shllingford (2004) "Literacy and Indigenous Scripts: Pre-colonial West Africa" - Encyclopedia of African History

I didn't see the one with the Berber info

[zarahan]

Ancient Europeans show some African variants. Africans not only have dark skin but can have blue eyes as well. Many African populations are lactose (milk) intolerant and some not. Modern studies of some ancient European DNA remains show them similar to Africans, with the dark skin-blue eye combination of some contemporary Africans, & some lactose intolerance.


Many Africans lactose intolerant but pastoral Africans in desert regions show some tolerance
- QUOTE:
“In some human populations, including humans of Northwest European descent and nomads of the African – Arabian desert region, lactose expression persists into adulthood. The benefits of milk consumption, both as a source of liquid in arid regions and for prevention of rickets and osteomalacia in regions of low solar radiation have been assumed to have driven the fixation of this polymorphism."
-- Maurice Edward Shils, Moshe Shike (2006)Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. p 633


–Scientists on ancient Mesolithic European “LaBrana Man”
"The biggest surprise was to discover that this individual [LaBrana European] possessed African versions in the genes that determine the light pigmentation of the current Europeans, which indicates that he had dark skin," Lalueza-Fox said... But the latest findings show that La Brana 1 still had dark skin and had been around the continent for 40,000 years, meaning fair skin probably evolved millennia later.” www.cbc.ca/news/technology/europeans-had-dark-skin-blue-eyes-7-000-years-ago-1.2512465


STUDY FINDINGS-
QUOTE: “Here we sequence an approximately 7,000-year-old Mesolithic skeleton discovered at the La Bran˜a-Arintero site in Leon, Spain, to retrieve a complete pre-agricultural European human genome. Analysis of this genome in the context of other ancient samples suggests the existence of a common ancient genomic signature across western and central Eurasia from the Upper Paleolithic to the Mesolithic. The La Brana individual carries ancestral alleles in several skin pigmentation genes, suggesting that the light skin of modern Europeans was not yet ubiquitous in Mesolithic times. Moreover, we provide evidence that a significant number of derived, putatively adaptive variants associated with pathogen resistance in modern Europeans were already present in this hunter-gatherer...

We found the ancient genome to carry the ancestral allele for lactose intolerance and approximately five copies of the salivary
amylase (AMY1) gene (Extended Data Fig. 7 and Supplementary Information), a copy number compatible with a low-starch
diet18. These results suggest the La Bran˜a hunter-gatherer was poor at digesting milk and starch, supporting the hypotheses
that these abilities were selected for during the later transition to agriculture.

Although the precise phenotypic effects cannot currently be ascertained in a European genetic background, results from functional
experiments20 indicate that the allelic combination in this Mesolithic individual is likely to have resulted in dark skin pigmentation and dark or brown hair..

The genotypic combination leading to a predicted phenotype of dark skin and non-brown eyes is unique and no longer present in
contemporary European populations. Our results indicate that the adaptive spread of light skin pigmentation alleles was not complete
in some European populations by the Mesolithic, and that the spread of alleles associated with light/blue eye colour may have preceded
changes in skin pigmentation.”
--Olade et al 2014. Derived immune and ancestral pigmentation alleles in a 7,000-year-old Mesolithic European. Nature (2014), doi:10.1038/nature12960

[zarahan]

--