Scientists in Trinity have for the first time sequenced ancient genomes from the Late Upper Palaeolithic period, leading to the discovery of a new strand of European hunter-gatherer ancestry.
The international team, led by scientists in Trinity and the University of Cambridge, discovered that the DNA, recovered from the genomes of two individuals found in caves in Georgia and Caucasus, is still present in Europeans today. The two individuals from which the genomes were sequenced were respectively 9,700 years and 13,300 years old.
In a press release, Prof Daniel Bradley, leader of the Trinity team and professor of population genetics, said: “This is a major new piece in the human ancestry jigsaw, the influence of which is now present within almost all populations from the European continent and many beyond.”
While recovering DNA from ancient samples is a notoriously difficult process, caves, such as those found in Geogia and Cauccasus, can act as natural incubators of DNA due to their cool, dry environment.
Emphasising the importance of this achievement, Prof Ron Pinhasi, from University College Dublin, in a press release said: “The sequencing of genomes from this key region will have a major impact on the fields of palaeogeneomics and human evolution in Eurasia, as it bridges a major geographic gap in our knowledge”.
The early Caucasus inhabitants are known to have deep connections with other major strands of human ancestry which adds greater significance to these new findings. In a press release, Andrea Manica, from the University of Cambridge, explained the origin of this newly discovered DNA: “This new lineage diverged from western European hunter-gatherers around the time of the first migrations of early modern humans into Europe about 45,000 years ago and from the ancestors of early farmers around the time of the glacial maximum, 25,000 years ago”.
By comparison with other ancient samples, the scientists have revealed that this new strand of hunter gatherer are one of at least four human groups ancestral to Europeans that overwintered the ice age separately.
These genomes are published today by PhD Researcher in Genetics in Trinity, Eppie Jones and colleagues, in the journal Nature Communications.
