8000 year-old human remains on the sea floor near Atlit, Israel

Our knowledge of prehistoric fishermen in the Eastern Mediterranean area is very scanty since most of the ancient coastal settlements are today inundated by the sea. The present paper describes and analyzes the human remains revealed and excavated in the 8,000 year-old submerged site at Atlit-Yam, Israel. The skeletal material indicates extensivce marine activities among the inhabitants of the village, including deep sea fishing, diving and fishnet production. The morphological similarity to the nearby Natufian population (Nahal Oren) points to population continuity in the region. The possibility of seafaring and relationships to pupulations of major mediterranean islands is also discussed.