Skull and stone tools from Gross Fredenwalde (Germany), dated 7,000 years ago. This individual population rubbed shoulders with the first European farmers without mixing. Volker Minkus
DECRYPTION – A new genetic study reveals the identity of our oldest European ancestors. These individuals found refuge in Spain to resist the last glaciation.
Europe has not always been a continent with a temperate, green and welcoming climate. There are still 20,000 years, the ice cap extended to the coast of Brittany, making living conditions particularly hostile. However, it was during this period that the first human populations settled permanently, still having descendants today. A new study published in the journal Nature brings new elements that allow us to better understand who these individuals were, and how they managed to survive.
Read alsoThe Nobel for Neanderthal DNA
The study is based on the DNA analysis of 356 fossils, dated between 45,000 and 5,000 years ago and from 34 countries. Among them, 116 had never been studied before and had not been the subject of any scientific publication. Some of the authors published the same day, in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution the genome of a 23,000-year-old individual who lived in southern Spain, which enriches this corpus. “They are…
This article is for subscribers only. You have 86% left to discover.
Want to read more?
Unlock all items immediately. Without engagement.
Already subscribed? Login