Enamel-dentine junction morphology reveals population replacement and mobility in the late prehistoric Middle Nile Valley

Abstract

This study presents further insights into the population history of North-Eastern Africa during a crucial period when fishing, hunting, and gathering was replaced by food-production and a Neolithic lifestyle. Previous studies attributed variations in cranial and dental anatomy to diet changes accompanying the Neolithic transition in the Nile Valley. This study evaluates population continuity hypotheses by analysis of the morphology of the largest sample of dental remains (n = 122), spanning 14.000 years of deep population history. This study provides firm evidence for population replacement and migrations to this region at the Neolithic transition. It also reveals unexpected settlement and interaction processes of these new populations, and provides direct biological evidence of mobility patterns among Neolithic communities.