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Ancient DNA research in Europe and Eurasia

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2026-11-05 18:13 UTC → 2026-11-09 08:54 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Recent genetic studies are providing new insights into human and animal migration patterns during the Ice Age and subsequent historical periods. Research involving a 30,000 year old genome from a woman near the Pyrenees suggests that eastern and western European populations experienced genetic exchange during the Gravettian period, rather than remaining isolated. New genomic research published in Science Advances, coordinated by the University of Vienna, supports this by analyzing human DNA recovered from cave sediments. Findings from sites in France, Spain, and Italy indicate significant genetic exchange among Gravettian culture communities, which existed between 34,000 and 25,000 years ago. Notably, researchers successfully extracted 22,000 year old nuclear DNA from cave sediments at El Mirón in Spain, even in the absence of bones or teeth, allowing for the reconstruction of populations where physical remains did not survive. Additionally, studies of remains in Turkey and the United Kingdom have identified dog DNA dating back approximately 15,800 and 14,300 years, respectively. These findings suggest a single, widespread dog population existed across western Eurasia during the late Ice Age. Further investigations into the Iberian Peninsula analyzed DNA from individuals living between 100 and 800 CE. This research indicates that Roman expansion introduced ancestry from the eastern Mediterranean and North ~~Africa, noting that these demographic shifts were more pronounced than those caused by later medieval migrations.~~ Africa. Two studies published in the journal ~~Nature, led by researchers from the Universities of Copenhagen, Leiden, and Gothenburg,~~ Nature have also utilized ancient DNA to reshape the understanding of European linguistic and population history. By analyzing the genomes of over 4,500 ancient individuals, including 712 newly sequenced genomes, the team reconstructed population movements through genetics, archaeology, and linguistics. The research identifies a migration history, identifying migrations from the Baltic region to Scandinavia ~~approximately 4,000 years ago, suggesting the linguistic roots of English, German, Dutch,~~ and ~~Scandinavian languages arrived in the region roughly 1,000 years later than previously theorized. Additionally, a migration~~ from ~~present-day~~ northern Germany into Denmark and southern ~~Sweden approximately 1,500 years ago coincided with the emergence of Old Norse, potentially explaining cultural and linguistic similarities between Viking and Anglo-Saxon traditions.~~ Sweden.

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