Molecular archaeology: People, animals, and plants of the holy land

Scientists, by employing various innovative techniques, have succeeded to put the "flesh back on the bones" of people, animals, and plants of prehistoric and historic Israel. Classic morphometrics and modern molecular genetics, epidemiology and botany, biblical texts and archaeological contexts - every single piece of information becomes crucial when individual and/or population life histories are considered. Analysis of DNA recovered from fossils has added a new dimension to our understanding of human evolution and population movements, disease patterns and host-pathogen relationships, and plant and animal domestication.