Ancient DNA tells tales of humans’ migrant history
Scientists once could reconstruct humanity's distant past only from the mute testimony of ancient settlements, bones, and artefacts.
Category : Biology
HeritageDaily – Biology news and biological press releases from across the globe
Study identifies traces of indigenous ‘Taíno’ in present-day Caribbean populations
A thousand-year-old tooth has provided genetic evidence that the so-called "Taíno", the first indigenous Americans to feel the full impact of European colonisation after Columbus
Interdisciplinary approach yields new insights into human evolution
The evolution of human biology should be considered part and parcel with the evolution of humanity itself, proposes Nicole Creanza, assistant professor of biological sciences.
Scandinavians shaped by several waves of immigration
So you think people in present-day Sweden and Norway are different from each other? It turns out that would have been closer to the truth
Possible cause of early colonial-era Mexican epidemic identified
An international team, led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), Harvard University and the Mexican National Institute
Multiple migration routes made ‘melting pot’ of first Scandinavians
A study on the genomic data of early settlers in Scandinavian peninsula suggests two distinct routes of migration.
DNA analysis of ancient mummy, thought to have smallpox, points to Hepatitis B instead
A team of scientists has sequenced the complete genome of an ancient strain of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), shedding new light on a pervasive,
Ancient Native American population discovered through DNA
DNA studies on the ancient remains of an infant discovered in Alaska has revealed a new group of native population previously unknown to scientists.
Ancient feces reveal parasites described in earliest Greek medical texts
Feces from prehistoric burials provide evidence for parasitic worms, as described in the writings of Hippocrates from 2500 years ago.
Genetics of ancient resistance to Inca Rule
The fate of indigenous populations was only noted down from Spanish records based largely on Inca oral histories. Writings by the major chroniclers of the time,
Could Squirrel trade have contributed to England’s medieval leprosy outbreak?
Genetic analysis of a pre-Norman skull unearthed in a garden in Hoxne, Suffolk, has added to a growing body of evidence that East Anglia may
How Neanderthals influenced human genetics at the crossroads of Asia and Europe
When the ancestors of modern humans migrated out of Africa, they passed through the Middle East and Turkey before heading deeper into Asia and Europe.
New Neandertal and archaic human genomes advance our understanding of human evolution
Two new studies on ancient genomes provide valuable insights into the lives of our ancestors and their cousins, the Neandertals.
Stone Age child reveals that modern humans emerged more than 300,000 years ago
South Africa is well-known for its hominin fossil record. But this time, results from a study of ancient DNA presented in the September 28th First Release early
First large-scale ancient DNA study helps reconstruct African population structure
Africa has long been known as the 'cradle of mankind', but up to now, the genetic information has been largely derived from modern population studies.
Dino-killing asteroid’s impact on bird evolution
Human activities could change the pace of evolution, similar to what occurred 66 million years ago when a giant asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, leaving
Complex life evolved out of the chance coupling of small molecules
Complex life, as we know it, started completely by chance, with small strands of molecules linking up, which eventually would have given them the ability
Huge genetic diversity among Papuan New Guinean peoples revealed
The first large-scale genetic study of people in Papua New Guinea has shown that different groups within the country are genetically highly different from each
When ancient fossil DNA isn’t available, ancient glycans may help trace human evolution
Ancient DNA recovered from fossils is a valuable tool to study evolution and anthropology. Yet ancient fossil DNA from earlier geological ages has not been
An officer and a gentlewoman from the Viking army in Birka
War was not an activity exclusive to males in the Viking world. A new study conducted by researchers at Stockholm and Uppsala Universities shows that
Ancient DNA used to track Mesa Verde exodus in 13th century
Ancient DNA used to track the mass exodus of Ancestral Pueblo people from Colorado's Mesa Verde region in the late 13th century indicates many wound
New look at archaic DNA rewrites human evolution story
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the ancestors of modern humans diverged from an archaic lineage that gave rise to Neanderthals and Denisovans. Yet the