Insights into the Social Structure of the PPNB Site of Kfar HaHoresh, Israel, Based on Dental Remains

Abstract

One of the central questions of the transition from mobile hunter-gatherers to sedentary farming communities concerns the establishment of new social structures and group identities. Along with other important factors, such as territory, ideology or economy, biological relationships might have played a decisive role in defining social groups. We therefore systematically analyzed teeth and jaw remains from nine sites in the Near East dating from the Natufian to the Late PPNB as primary proxy data for the reconstruction of familial relationships. This paper presents the results of morphological analyses on the teeth of the individuals from Kfar HaHoresh, one of the investigated Pre-Pottery Neolithic B sites. Kfar HaHoresh is located in the Nazareth hills of Galilee (32°42'20'' N 35°16'28'' E), Israel. Different statistical methods were applied to our data of epigenetic traits with the aim of determining biological relationships within the community, whereby the data of the eight other sites were used as cross-references. Our comparison of the traits of all individuals from Kfar HaHoresh indicates a rather heterogeneous community, but clearly shows one cluster belonging to a quite homogenous group, suggesting close biological relations between females and sub-adults. Interestingly, none of the male individuals belongs to this cluster, although their number outweighs that of the female individuals. This might suggest matrilocal residence patterns. However, due to the incomplete preservation of the teeth along with several other uncertainties, our conclusion must be seen as preliminary. A cross-examination of the results on skeletons excavated after our investigation should also be taken into consideration.

Burying power: New insights into incipient leadership in the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic from an outstanding burial at Baʻja, southern Jordan

“…g . [70, 120], health status, mobility or diet on the basis of anthropological data has to await future research. Any conclusion about genetic relationships concerning social differentiation, such as inheritance, “lineages” or even “tribes” or “clans” remains highly speculative.…”

Isotopic and proteomic evidence for communal stability at Pre-Pottery Neolithic Jericho in the Southern Levant

“…This is evidenced by JCH060, for example, with the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios of her M1 (0.7080110), M2 (0.708018) and M3 (0.708020) all showing that she likely lived at Jericho her entire childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, though travelling after these life stages cannot be excluded due to the inherent limitations of this method which targets early life. The epigenetic traits of human teeth from the PPNB site Kfar HaHoresh in the Southern Levant showed biological relationships between females and subadults, which is not the case between any males and subadults, indicating a possible matrilocal residence pattern 77 . On top of the potential mobility pattern reflected by the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values in this study, with no female and only two male immigrants at PPN Jericho, the assumption that a matrilocal social organization may have existed at Jericho should not be excluded, although we must note that the evidence for male mobility is also limited in terms of sample size and this is only an assumption awaits further more solid evidence to verify.…”

Making ties and social identities: Drawing connections between PPNB communities as based on shell bead typology

“…Furthermore, marriage arrangements and genealogical ties likely connected between remote communities. Familial and biological relationships among individuals buried at KHH were investigated based on indicative tooth morphologies [ 166 ], showing the presence of a biological cluster of females and sub-adults within the general heterogeneous population. Males buried at the site were found to be biologically unrelated to the cluster, possibly suggesting matrilineal exogamous practices based on the introduction of male individuals from different groups into the community.…”