Discovered more than 10 years ago from a cave in China’s Yunnan province, the remains have finally revealed their secret, and DNA analysis has revealed not only who left them, but also where their ancestors went.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences analyzed nuclear and mitochondrial arrays extracted from a 14,000-year-old skull and discovered that the woman it once included — named Mengzi Ren — was closely related to the population that first appeared. . feet in america ..
Since their discovery in 2008, dozens of Late Paleolithic human bones in Malu Dong (Red Deer Cave) in southwestern China have confused anthropologists as to whom they belong.
If there is not enough collagen to produce a carbon dating test, its age can only be estimated from the features surrounding the grave site. It is also unclear whether the bony mix, which includes part of the skull and upper end of the femur, came from a single person.
To find out where exactly Mengzi Ren is in the expanding family tree, the researchers sequenced the DNA they could extract and mapped it to a standard genetic reference model.
Because mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the egg only from the mother, they defined its maternal lineage as an extinct clade, which is now represented by only two modern subgroups.
A closer look at his DNA confirms that Mengzi is closely related to anatomically modern humans, but all does not include his heritage in ancient origins.
“Ancient DNA technology is a very powerful tool,” said Ping Su, an archaeologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. across.” normal ”.
While the Mengzi are more closely related to the populations of present-day southern China than the northern peoples, they bear little in common with the people now living in Southeast Asia, suggesting that there is a well-organized and diverse population in the region. thousands of years ago.
There is strong evidence that very few people descended from the north to settle in the east; leaving this group to cross the ice -covered expanse of the Bering Strait to settle in the vast wilderness of America.
Linking Mengzi Ren DNA to sequences from northern populations means that there is now strong evidence for links between modern Asians, First Nations, and ancient Asian ancestors.
“This data will not only help us paint a more complete picture of how our ancestors migrated, but also contain important information about how people changed their physical appearance over time in by adapting to local environments, such as skin color differences. Changes in sun exposure, ”said Su. “.
While Red Deer Cave has more secrets to discover, there are many late Pleistocene sites in Asia.
This research is published in Current Biology.
Source: Science Alert
Source: Arabic RT
