Ancient 'ghost' hominin lineage identified in modern human DNA

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have used a new analytical technique called TRACE to detect genetic traces of two extinct human populations in modern genomes. One of the lineages, dubbed a “ghost ancestor,” contributed roughly 1 % of the DNA of present‑day humans and interbred with early Homo sapiens in Africa about 50,000 years ago, before the species spread worldwide. The findings, published in the journal Science, show that ancient admixture with unknown hominins was more widespread than previously thought and that the genetic legacy of these groups is shared by all contemporary humans.

The TRACE method reconstructs ancestral recombination networks from modern genomes, allowing detection of DNA fragments from extinct groups without requiring fossil DNA. This expands the known picture of human evolutionary history beyond the well‑documented interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans.