CNN —Scientists say they have recovered the oldest known Homo sapiens DNA from human remains found in Europe, and the information is helping to reveal our species’ shared history with Neanderthals.
Scientists have known since the first Neanderthal genome was sequenced in 2010 that early humans interbred with Neanderthals, a bombshell revelation that bequeathed a genetic legacy still traceable in humans today.
Over this 7,000-year time frame, early humans encountered Neanderthals, had sex and gave birth to children on a fairly regular basis.
It’s not clear why people in East Asia today have more Neanderthal ancestry than Europeans, or why Neanderthal genomes from this period show little evidence of Homo sapiens DNA.
DNA from her skull was sequenced in a previous study, and researchers involved in the Nature study were able to connect her to the Ranis individuals.
Persons:
sapiens, Martin Schutt, ” Priya Moorjani, Tony Capra, ”, Capra, wasn’t, Marek Jantač, ” Capra, Leonardo Iasi, Max Planck, don’t, Johannes Krause, Homo, Krause
Organizations:
CNN —, University of California, Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, Max, Max Planck Institute, Evolutionary Anthropology
Locations:
Europe, Ranis, Germany, Africa, Eurasia, Berkeley, Bakar, San Francisco, kůň, Czech Republic, Leipzig, East Asia, Zlatý kůň, archaeogenetics