Scientists found that the most ancient human DNA found in the world belongs to a woman who lived in the territory of the modern Czech Republic 45 thousand years ago. For this, researchers from the Institute of Science on the Human History of the Max Planck named in Germany analyzed her skull. The article is published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
The study showed that the woman belonged to the first group of Homo Sapiens, which migrated to Europe from Africa. It is assumed that Neanderthals were her ancestors in the fifth or sixth generation. It turned out after scientists found long stripes of continuous Neanderthal DNA in its genome.
According to the authors of the work, the DNA of this woman is not found in people living later in Europe or Asia. “It is quite intriguing that the earliest modern people in Europe ultimately did not succeed!” – said Johannes Crause, senior author of the study.
According to scientists, this discovery confirms the fact that people lived side by side with Neanderthals for a long time until the moment they extinct about 40 thousand years ago. This is indicated not only by their DNA, but also the community of culture – decorations from animal teeth were found in the caves, which also did Neanderthals.
Previously, the international group of researchers revealed that Neanderthals, the nearest extinct relatives of a person, possessed the ability to perceive and reproduce human speech.