Abstract
The spread of thalassemia among prehistoric populations of the Mediterranean basin has been linked to the increased risk to early agriculturalists posed by thePlasmodium falciparum parasite. We here present the earliest case, to our knowledge, of thalassemia diagnosed on the basis of long bone remains. We further discuss the value of this finding for our understanding of the transition from foraging to agriculture.
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Hershkovitz, I., Edelson, G. The first identified case of thalassemia?. Hum. Evol. 6, 49–54 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02435606
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02435606