The analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) has revolutionized the understanding of human prehistory, offering a direct look into the genetic makeup of past populations. The Natufians, an ancient culture situated in the Levant, are important for genetic study because they existed at a transitional point in human history. Studying the Natufian genome provides insights into the deep ancestry of the Near East and the dispersal of populations associated with the subsequent adoption of agriculture.
Defining the Natufians
The Natufian culture existed during the Epipaleolithic period, roughly spanning from 15,000 to 11,500 years ago, primarily across the Levant (modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria). This timeframe places them immediately before the start of the Neolithic Revolution and the shift to full-scale farming. Unlike purely nomadic hunter-gatherer predecessors, the Natufians developed a semi-sedentary or sedentary lifestyle.
They established permanent settlements, often featuring circular, semi-subterranean stone houses and storage facilities, suggesting a reliance on stable, local resources. Their subsistence strategy involved the intensive harvesting of wild cereals, such as wheat and barley, using specialized tools like bone-handled sickles and stone mortars and pestles for processing grain.
Unique Genetic Profile
The aDNA analysis of Natufian skeletal remains, particularly those from sites in the southern Levant, revealed a distinct genetic signature. The Natufians were a mix of two major ancestral components. Approximately half of their ancestry was attributed to “Basal Eurasian,” a lineage that diverged early from all other non-African Eurasian groups and had little to no Neanderthal admixture.
The remaining ancestry was related to an “Unknown Hunter-Gatherer” population, which showed distant affinity to the hunter-gatherers of Mesolithic Europe. Natufian males carried Y-chromosome haplogroups such as E1b1b, which is thought to have an ultimate African origin and was not commonly found in other ancient West Eurasian populations.
The Natufian Contribution to Farming Populations
The genetic findings established a direct link between Natufian hunter-gatherers and the first agricultural populations in the Fertile Crescent. Early Neolithic farmers in the southern Levant, belonging to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and B cultures, inherited a significant portion of their genome from the Natufians. These Levantine farmers trace about two-thirds of their ancestry to Natufian hunter-gatherers.
This genetic continuity demonstrates that the transition to agriculture in the Levant was primarily a cultural and demographic transformation of the existing local population. As farming spread outward from the Fertile Crescent, the Natufian genetic component dispersed along with it. This ancestry integrated into the expanding agricultural groups that moved into Anatolia, Europe, and North Africa, making the Natufians a source population for the Neolithic expansion.
Tracing Natufian Ancestry in Modern Populations
The genetic legacy of the Natufians persists in modern populations across the Middle East and beyond, though often diluted by subsequent migrations and admixture events. Their ancestry is highest among contemporary populations in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. Populations like Bedouins, Yemenis, and Saudi Arabians show high levels of Natufian-related ancestry, sometimes peaking around 70% in specific groups.
The Natufian component is a primary autosomal element in the Near East, with a strong presence among groups such as the Druze. While later gene flow, including from Anatolian and Iranian farmers, has shaped the modern genetic landscape, the core Natufian signature remains a defining characteristic of the region’s genetic history.