Latest news with #ancientDNA
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists reconstruct 10,500-year-old woman's face using DNA
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Researchers studying the remains of a prehistoric woman who lived around 10,500 years ago in what is now Belgium have produced a reconstruction of her face using ancient DNA. A team led by scientists from Ghent University found that the woman would have had blue eyes and slightly lighter skin than most other people from the Mesolithic period in Western Europe who have been analyzed to date, according to a statement from the university on Tuesday. Isabelle De Groote, an archaeologist at Ghent University who leads the research project on Mesolithic Belgium, told CNN that the woman came from the same population group as the Cheddar Man, who lived in what is now the United Kingdom at around the same time, but had lighter skin. The findings challenge previous assumptions that European hunter gatherers shared the same genetic makeup, and demonstrates that there was already considerable variation in skin color among different populations, said De Groote. 'From the skull we could also tell that she was somewhere between 35 and 60 years old,' De Groote told CNN on Wednesday. 'She also had a nose with a high nasal bridge, which is similar to Cheddar Man,' De Groote added. 'She also has strong brow ridges despite being a female.' The woman's remains were found in the Margaux cave in Dinant during an archaeological dig in 1988-1989 alongside the bodies of eight other women, said De Groote. This was 'an unusual finding' as most Mesolithic burial sites contain a mixture of men, women and children, she added. 'Many of the skeletons were sprinkled with ochre, a practice associated with ritual or symbolic behavior,' said De Groote. Most of the bodies were carefully covered with stone fragments, while one individual had cut marks on her skull that were made after her death, she added. 'Also interesting is that this burial cave was used over a period of several hundreds of years so that they were places of memory that people would go back to despite their mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle,' said De Groote. 'These findings point to complex burial customs and raise intriguing questions about the social structure and cultural practices of this early hunter-gatherer community,' she added. Philippe Crombé, an archaeologist at the university who is part of the project team, said that the ancient woman's skin color was 'a bit of a surprise,' but there's a limited pool of Mesolithic people with whom to compare. 'All individuals so far analyzed on ancient DNA in Western Europe have belonged to the same genetic group,' he said. 'So it's a bit of a surprise, but on the other hand, it is to be expected that in the wide area of Western Europe there's some variability, as there is today.' When the remains were recovered there was no way to conduct research into ancient DNA, said Crombé. 'Techniques have developed since the excavation,' he told CNN on Wednesday, adding that the interdisciplinary project is 'a re-analysis of old excavations using state of the art methods.' Crombé detailed how 'quite good quality' DNA was taken from the woman's skull, allowing for the creation of 'a very detailed reconstruction.' Her skin color, hair color and eye color is all based on ancient DNA, while other elements such as her jewelry and tattoos are based on archaeological data obtained from other excavations in the River Meuse basin, which also allowed them to build a picture of her daily life. At one excavation – a former campsite on the banks of the river – scientists found stone tools, bones from wild game and fish remains, said Crombé, providing evidence that these people would have been nomadic. 'They're still moving around because they are entirely dependent on natural resources: wild game, wild plants, fish,' he said. 'So that forced them to move through the landscape and to move their settlements.' Many questions remain about these Mesolithic communities, which were the last hunter-gatherers in Western Europe, said Crombé. Now the team are analyzing the remains to piece together the relationships between people who were buried together, and also plan to study the extent to which they would have eaten fish, he added.
CNN
2 days ago
- Science
- CNN
Scientists reconstruct 10,500-year-old woman's face using DNA
Researchers studying the remains of a prehistoric woman who lived around 10,500 years ago in what is now Belgium have produced a reconstruction of her face using ancient DNA. A team led by scientists from Ghent University found that the woman would have had blue eyes and slightly lighter skin than most other people from the Mesolithic period in Western Europe who have been analyzed to date, according to a statement from the university on Tuesday. Isabelle De Groote, an archaeologist at Ghent University who leads the research project on Mesolithic Belgium, told CNN that the woman came from the same population group as the Cheddar Man, who lived in what is now the United Kingdom at around the same time, but had lighter skin. The findings challenge previous assumptions that European hunter gatherers shared the same genetic makeup, and demonstrates that there was already considerable variation in skin color among different populations, said De Groote. 'From the skull we could also tell that she was somewhere between 35 and 60 years old,' De Groote told CNN on Wednesday. 'She also had a nose with a high nasal bridge, which is similar to Cheddar Man,' De Groote added. 'She also has strong brow ridges despite being a female.' The woman's remains were found in the Margaux cave in Dinant during an archaeological dig in 1988-1989 alongside the bodies of eight other women, said De Groote. This was 'an unusual finding' as most Mesolithic burial sites contain a mixture of men, women and children, she added. 'Many of the skeletons were sprinkled with ochre, a practice associated with ritual or symbolic behavior,' said De Groote. Most of the bodies were carefully covered with stone fragments, while one individual had cut marks on her skull that were made after her death, she added. 'Also interesting is that this burial cave was used over a period of several hundreds of years so that they were places of memory that people would go back to despite their mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle,' said De Groote. 'These findings point to complex burial customs and raise intriguing questions about the social structure and cultural practices of this early hunter-gatherer community,' she added. Philippe Crombé, an archaeologist at the university who is part of the project team, said that the ancient woman's skin color was 'a bit of a surprise,' but there's a limited pool of Mesolithic people with whom to compare. 'All individuals so far analyzed on ancient DNA in Western Europe have belonged to the same genetic group,' he said. 'So it's a bit of a surprise, but on the other hand, it is to be expected that in the wide area of Western Europe there's some variability, as there is today.' When the remains were recovered there was no way to conduct research into ancient DNA, said Crombé. 'Techniques have developed since the excavation,' he told CNN on Wednesday, adding that the interdisciplinary project is 'a re-analysis of old excavations using state of the art methods.' Crombé detailed how 'quite good quality' DNA was taken from the woman's skull, allowing for the creation of 'a very detailed reconstruction.' Her skin color, hair color and eye color is all based on ancient DNA, while other elements such as her jewelry and tattoos are based on archaeological data obtained from other excavations in the River Meuse basin, which also allowed them to build a picture of her daily life. At one excavation – a former campsite on the banks of the river – scientists found stone tools, bones from wild game and fish remains, said Crombé, providing evidence that these people would have been nomadic. 'They're still moving around because they are entirely dependent on natural resources: wild game, wild plants, fish,' he said. 'So that forced them to move through the landscape and to move their settlements.' Many questions remain about these Mesolithic communities, which were the last hunter-gatherers in Western Europe, said Crombé. Now the team are analyzing the remains to piece together the relationships between people who were buried together, and also plan to study the extent to which they would have eaten fish, he added.
CNN
11-06-2025
- Science
- CNN
6,000-year-old skeletons found in Colombia have unique DNA
Scientists studying ancient human remains uncovered in Colombia have found that the people they were researching have no known ancestors or modern descendants. In a study published May 30 in the journal Science Advances, a team of researchers reported on the genetic data of 21 individuals whose skeletal remains were found in the Bogotá Altiplano in central Colombia, some of whom lived as long as 6,000 years ago, that belonged to a previously unknown population. Previous studies have proven the existence of two lineages, northern Native American and southern Native American, which developed after people first arrived on the continent across an ice bridge from Siberia and started to move south. The latter split into at least three sub-lineages whose movements have been traced in South America, but scientists have not yet ascertained when the first people would have moved from Central America to South America. The study helps to map the movements of the first settlers, who would have been nomadic hunter-gatherers, study author Andrea Casas Vargas, a researcher at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, told CNN on Wednesday, but it also found that they have unique DNA. Casas Vargas said the team were 'very surprised' to find that the remains did not share DNA with other people in the genetic record. 'We did not expect to find a lineage that had not been reported in other populations,' she said. Casas Vargas underlined that Colombia's position as the entry point to South America makes it significant to our understanding of the population of the Americas. 'This study is very important because it is the first to sequence complete genomes in ancient samples from Colombia,' she said, The results raise questions 'as to where they came from and why they disappeared,' said Casas Vargas. 'We are not certain what happened at that time that caused their disappearance, whether it was due to environmental changes, or if they were replaced by other population groups,' she added. Further research will hopefully provide some answers, said Casas Vargas. 'Our next investigations will look for other archaeological remains from other regions of the country and analyze them at the genetic level and complement this first discovery,' she said. Christina Warinner, a professor of scientific archaeology at Harvard University, told CNN that Colombia 'is a key region for understanding the peopling of South America… but until now it has been a blank spot in ancient DNA studies of the Americas.' 'This study highlights the deep history of population migration and mixing in the formation today's populations, and points to Central America as a key region that influenced the development of complex societies in both North and South America,' she added.
The Sun
07-06-2025
- Science
- The Sun
Archaeologists find 6,000-year-old skeletons from Colombia with ancient DNA which could rewrite human history
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found 6,000-year-old skeletons from Colombia with ancient DNA that could rewrite human history. The incredible remains belonging to hunter-gatherers at the ancient preceramic site of Checua don't have DNA that matches any known Indigenous population in the region today. 3 3 3 Their bombshell genetic signature has revealed a distinct - and extinct - lineage. This could have descended all the way from the earliest humans to reach South America. This lineage diverged early on and remained genetically isolated for thousands of years. Researchers have managed to reconstruct a rare genetic timeline by anaylysing DNA from 21 people who lived in the Bogota Altiplano between roughly 6,000 to 500 years ago. Extracted from bones and teeth, the DNA samples showed that the oldest people at Checua carried a distinctive ancestral signature. This has completely disappeared from the modern gene pool. Kim-Louise Krettek, lead author and a PhD student at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution in Germany said: "This area is key to understanding how the Americas were populated. "It was the land bridge between North and South America and the meeting point of three major cultural regions: Mesoamerica, Amazonia, and the Andes." Early people weren't related to other ancient groups in South America genetically. They also didn't share ancestry with early North American populations. Catholics flock to see preserved body of 'God's Influencer' teen entombed in glass as he's made 'First Millennial Saint' Krettek added: "Our results show that the Checua individuals derive from the earliest population that spread and differentiated across South America very rapidly. "We couldn't find descendants of these early hunter-gatherers of the Colombian high plains, the genes were not passed on. "That means in the area around Bogotá there was a complete exchange of the population." Roughly a whopping 2,000 years ago, the genetic landscape of the Bogota highlands shifted. The distinctive lineage discovered in the earliest Checua remains had vanished and replaced by a new population. Their DNA bear close similarity to the ancient Panamanians and modern Chibchan-speaking groups in Costa Rica and Panama. Co-author and researcher at Universidad Nacional de Colombia Andrea Casas-Vargas explained how the bizarre disappearance of the original population's genetic traces is rare in South America. She said: "Up to now, strong genetic continuity has been observed in the population of the Andes and the southern cone of South America over long time periods and cultural changes." As new arrivals came to the Bogota highlands, the population changed significantly as time went on. But the shift didn't come with any signs of war or invasion, nor violence, according to the archeologists. The change may have just occurred gradually through migration, cultural exchange, or intermarriage. Therefore, the Checua people's unique DNA faded - and eventually vanished. The unbelievable discovery is the first example of Colombia looking at ancient DNA - but experts say it's just the beginning. Surrounding regions like western Columbia, Venezuela, and Ecuador have never received genetical analysation. Krettek said: "Ancient DNA from those areas will be crucial in understanding how humans migrated into South America."
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Mysterious 6,000-year-old skeletons with never-before-seen DNA rewrites human history
Archaeologists have uncovered 6,000-year-old skeletons in Colombia that belonged to a mysterious group of people that could rewrite human history. The remains, discovered at the ancient preceramic site of Checua near Bogotá, were of hunter-gatherers whose DNA does not match that of any known Indigenous population in the region today. Instead, their genetic signature reveals a distinct and now-extinct lineage that may have descended from the earliest humans to reach South America, one that diverged early and remained genetically isolated for thousands of years. By analyzing ancient DNA from 21 individuals who lived in the Bogotá Altiplano between 6,000 and 500 years ago, researchers reconstructed a rare genetic timeline spanning nearly six millennia. The DNA samples, extracted from bones and teeth, show that the oldest individuals at Checua carried a unique ancestral signature that has completely vanished from the modern gene pool. Their lineage didn't simply blend into others, but it disappeared entirely. 'This area is key to understanding how the Americas were populated,' said Kim-Louise Krettek, lead author and a Ph.D. student at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution in Germany. 'It was the land bridge between North and South America and the meeting point of three major cultural regions: Mesoamerica, Amazonia, and the Andes.' Genetically, these early people were not related to other ancient groups in South America, such as those found in Chile or Brazil, nor did they share ancestry with early North American populations, including those from California's Channel Islands. The study also offers new insights into the so-called Isthmo-Colombian area, a cultural and genetic transition zone that stretches from Honduras through Panama and into the northern Andes of Colombia. 'Our results show that the Checua individuals derive from the earliest population that spread and differentiated across South America very rapidly,' explained Kim-Louise Krettek, the study's first author and a Ph.D. student at the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution in Germany. 'We couldn't find descendants of these early hunter-gatherers of the Colombian high plains, the genes were not passed on. 'That means in the area around Bogotá there was a complete exchange of the population.' Around 2,000 years ago, the genetic landscape of the Bogotá highlands changed dramatically. The unique lineage found in the earliest Checua remains disappeared, replaced by a new population with DNA closely resembling that of ancient Panamanians and modern Chibchan-speaking groups in Costa Rica and Panama. Andrea Casas-Vargas, co-author and researcher at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, said genetic evidence suggests the culture that followed in the Altiplano arrived with migrants from Central America. Along with technological advances like ceramics, these migrants likely introduced the Chibchan languages to what is now Colombia. 'Branches of this language family are still spoken in Central America today,' Casas-Vargas said. She also noted that the complete disappearance of the original population's genetic traces is rare in South America. 'Up to now, strong genetic continuity has been observed in the population of the Andes and the southern cone of South America over long time periods and cultural changes,' she said. These new arrivals are connected to Central America and show that the population of the Bogotá highlands changed significantly over time. They brought with them the Herrera tradition, a culture known for its pottery and early farming. Their descendants helped shape the Muisca civilization, which dominated the region until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. But the shift didn't come with signs of war or invasion. Archaeologists found no evidence of violence. Instead, the change may have come gradually through migration, cultural exchange, or intermarriage. Over time, the Checua people's unique DNA faded, diluted and eventually erased. Scientists analyzed both maternal DNA and broader markers to trace ancestry. While Checua males carried a common Native American Y-DNA signature (Q1b1a), the rest of their genetic profile showed deep isolation and no link to later populations. Later groups who lived on the plateau had stronger ties to Venezuela and Central America, suggesting the region eventually became part of a larger network stretching across the northern part of the continent. Even though Chibchan languages are still spoken in Costa Rica, Panama, and northern Colombia, today's Indigenous Colombians are not directly descended from the Checua or even from the early Chibchan-linked Herrera people. Professor Cosimo Posth emphasized the importance of distinguishing genetics from culture: 'Questions about history and origins touch upon a sensitive area of the self-perception and identity of the Indigenous population. 'The genetic disposition must not be viewed as equal to cultural identity.' He added that the research team engaged with the Guardia Indígena Muisca, the living descendants of the Muisca culture in the high plains of Bogotá, to respect and incorporate community-based knowledge. 'As scientists addressing questions relevant to the Indigenous communities in Colombia, we respect and value the wealth of community-based knowledge.' This research marks Colombia's first look at ancient DNA, and scientists believe it's just the beginning. Many surrounding regions like western Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador have never been genetically analyzed. They could hold more clues about the waves of people who helped shape the continent. Scientists say this is just the beginning. Since this marks Colombia's first ancient genomic dataset, many unsampled and potentially unknown populations may still lie hidden beneath the soil. 'Ancient DNA from those areas will be crucial in understanding how humans migrated into South America,' Krettek said.
