Neanderthal DNA reveals ancient long-distance migrations

What is it about?

A new study published by an international team in PNAS reports the discovery of ancient DNA from a tiny 5 cm long Neanderthal bone found in the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine, shedding light on long-distance migrations during the Late Pleistocene period 40-50,000 years ago. The Neanderthal bone, called “Star 1”, after the site from which it was excavated - Starosele Cave - was found using molecular protein fingerprinting methods. Ancient DNA extracted from the bone showed that it was genetically closest related to Neanderthals from the Altai region of Siberia, over 3,000 kilometers away. Climate modelling that Neanderthal groups probably migrated across the vast Eurasian steppes during a time of favourable climate

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Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Researcher Emily M. Pigott, a doctoral student at the University of Vienna and lead author on the paper, employed a molecular fingerprinting technique known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) to identify animal species among the fragmented bones. Normally these bones cannot be identified to species, but by extracting the collagen peptides and analysing their mass it is possible to identify even tiny fragments to species or genus level. Of the 150 analysed bones, 93% belonged to horses and deer, with smaller numbers of mammoth and wolf remains — suggesting that Palaeolithic humans in Crimea relied heavily on horse hunting. Remarkably, one small fragment — only 49.8 mm long and 18.8 mm wide — was identified as human. The fragment was scanned using micro-CT imaging, which revealed it was likely to have come from a human femur. It was also radiocarbon dated using the most up-to-date decontamination methods, which placed the bone between 46,000 and 44,000 years ago, securely within the Palaeolithic period. The discovery highlights the mobility and resilience of Neanderthals, revealing that these ancient humans were more widespread in their dispersal than often previously assumed. Co-authors Konstantina Cheshmedzhieva and Professor Martin Kuhlwilm of the University of Vienna led the genetic analysis on the new human remains, finding that the human bone belonged to a Neanderthal, which the team named Star 1. Surprisingly, this individual was most closely related to Neanderthals from Siberia’s Altai region, more than 3,000 kilometers to the east, but also with Neanderthals that once lived in regions of Europe such as Croatia. The findings suggest that Neanderthals must have once dispersed over vast distances across Eurasia during the Late Pleistocene; from as far west as central Europe, all the way to central Eurasia. Through climate modelling Elke Zeller and Axel Timmerman managed to identify 2–3 periods when humans were most likely taking advantage of favourable climates along which they could move, perhaps following migrating herds of animals. These were likely the so-called ‘interglacial periods’ around 120,000 years ago, and another around 60,000 years ago when the climate was less benign.

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