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Using DNA analysis, researchers have found strong evidence for what appears to be an early migration of modern humans (us). Researchers have based this theory off the analysis of one particular Neanderthal's remains that were discovered in the Altai Mountains, which are near the Russia-Mongolia border. In this Neanderthal, parts of modern human DNA were found. This is particularly interesting because we have found human DNA in a Neanderthal genome, rather than Neanderthal DNA in a human genome. Since the Neanderthal can be dated to have lived about 100,000 years ago, it may be concluded that a human had to have mated with this Neanderthals ancestors. This conclusion is acceptable because present-day Africans have no traces of Neanderthal DNA within their genomes, so interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans only occurred after humans migrated out of Africa and into Eurasia about 60,000 years ago. This select Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains must have had a human ancestor that migrated to Eurasia before the large human migration, about 100,000 years ago. The group of ancestors for this Neanderthal is believed to have separated from other humans in Africa around the time when human groups were splitting from one another, around 200,000 years ago. There must have been a large gap in time from when the group left other groups of humans and when they contributed to the Neanderthal's DNA before the group of non-modern humans was lost to extinction. I find this issue of particular significance because it tells us part of the story of where we, as a species, came from, though the new lineage discovered is not necessarily an ancestor of ours. It is interesting that there was another combination of genes that, for some reason, did not thrive as we did. I feel sad for the lineage of Neanderthals that were not able to stay as a species. It also seems weird to me that some people have sequences of Neanderthal DNA within their own genome. I may be part Neanderthal myself come to think of it, with my short height and all. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160217140302.htm
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AuthorI'm Angel Archives
April 2016
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