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Unknown hominin ancestry in modern humans

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-09 18:24 UTC → 2026-08-26 23:07 UTC · added removed

Researchers from UC Berkeley and Johns Hopkins announced the discovery of have identified two previously unknown hominin lineages in within modern human DNA. Using a new computational tool called TRACE (TRacking Archaic Contributions via ARG Estimation), they identified scientists reconstructed ancestral recombination networks to detect these extinct populations without the need for direct fossil DNA comparisons. One lineage, described as a “ghost ancestor” that ancestor,” interbred with early Homo sapiens in Africa over 50,000 years ago, contributing about 0.5‑1% ago. This group contributed approximately 0.5% to 1.1% of each individual’s genome—comparable the DNA in present-day humans, a level of admixture comparable to Neanderthal DNA. They also detected a “super‑archaic A second, even older “super-archaic ancestor” that split from the human lineage roughly 1.8 million years ago, mixed with Denisovans in Eurasia, ago and entered contributed to modern genomes via indirectly through Denisovan admixture. A study published in the journal Science Science, involving the analysis of 503 genomes genomes, confirmed that this genetic legacy is present in diverse global populations, including British, Han Chinese, Telugu, Yoruba, and Luhya groups. The TRACE method allows for the detection of these extinct populations by reconstructing ancestral recombination networks, enabling researchers to identify ancient DNA segments without the need for direct fossil DNA comparisons. These findings suggest that ancient admixture with unknown hominins was more widespread than previously understood, expanding the known evolutionary history of Homo sapiens beyond known Neanderthal and Denisovan contributions.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-26 23:07 UTC Unknown hominin ancestry in modern humans
  2. 2026-08-09 18:24 UTC Unknown hominin ancestry in modern humans
  3. 2026-08-05 17:53 UTC Unknown hominin ancestry in modern humans

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