In the tradition of searching for the subtle details that are pertinent to the origins and development of agriculture, to seeking an understanding of the nature of the transition and to the characterisation of early farming communities, this paper will offer some thoughts on the northwestern part of Anatolia in the area to the south of the Sea of Marmara, with a focus on on-going research at the site of Aktopraklık (Figure 1). Following Marek Zvelebil’s increasing desire to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to the archaeological record of the first farmers, the authors of this paper represent colleagues who specialise in a range of techniques including palaeopathology, stable isotopes analysis and archaeology.

We endeavour here to offer some insights into early farming populations in this region on the basis of recent research and excavations, and the analysis of skeletal remains from the site of Aktopraklık in northwestern Anatolia. In approaching the dataset from the perspective of the individual as a window into the population, it is anticipated that important insights into past human subsistence, settlement and social interactions during the earlier stages of the transition from an emphasis on the exploitation of biologically “wild”, to biologically “domesticated” resources will be forthcoming (Zvelebil, Lillie 2000, 58).