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Initial Upper Palaeolithic humans in Europe had recent Neanderthal ancestry

Author

Listed:
  • Mateja Hajdinjak

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    Francis Crick Institute)

  • Fabrizio Mafessoni

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Laurits Skov

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Benjamin Vernot

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Alexander Hübner

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History)

  • Qiaomei Fu

    (Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment)

  • Elena Essel

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Sarah Nagel

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Birgit Nickel

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Julia Richter

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Oana Teodora Moldovan

    (Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, Cluj Department
    Romanian Institute of Science and Technology)

  • Silviu Constantin

    (Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology
    Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, CENIEH)

  • Elena Endarova

    (National History Museum)

  • Nikolay Zahariev

    (New Bulgarian University)

  • Rosen Spasov

    (New Bulgarian University)

  • Frido Welker

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    University of Copenhagen)

  • Geoff M. Smith

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Virginie Sinet-Mathiot

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Lindsey Paskulin

    (University of Aberdeen)

  • Helen Fewlass

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Sahra Talamo

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    University of Bologna)

  • Zeljko Rezek

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania)

  • Svoboda Sirakova

    (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)

  • Nikolay Sirakov

    (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)

  • Shannon P. McPherron

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Tsenka Tsanova

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Jean-Jacques Hublin

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France)

  • Benjamin M. Peter

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Matthias Meyer

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Pontus Skoglund

    (Francis Crick Institute)

  • Janet Kelso

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Svante Pääbo

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

Abstract

Modern humans appeared in Europe by at least 45,000 years ago1–5, but the extent of their interactions with Neanderthals, who disappeared by about 40,000 years ago6, and their relationship to the broader expansion of modern humans outside Africa are poorly understood. Here we present genome-wide data from three individuals dated to between 45,930 and 42,580 years ago from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria1,2. They are the earliest Late Pleistocene modern humans known to have been recovered in Europe so far, and were found in association with an Initial Upper Palaeolithic artefact assemblage. Unlike two previously studied individuals of similar ages from Romania7 and Siberia8 who did not contribute detectably to later populations, these individuals are more closely related to present-day and ancient populations in East Asia and the Americas than to later west Eurasian populations. This indicates that they belonged to a modern human migration into Europe that was not previously known from the genetic record, and provides evidence that there was at least some continuity between the earliest modern humans in Europe and later people in Eurasia. Moreover, we find that all three individuals had Neanderthal ancestors a few generations back in their family history, confirming that the first European modern humans mixed with Neanderthals and suggesting that such mixing could have been common.

Suggested Citation

  • Mateja Hajdinjak & Fabrizio Mafessoni & Laurits Skov & Benjamin Vernot & Alexander Hübner & Qiaomei Fu & Elena Essel & Sarah Nagel & Birgit Nickel & Julia Richter & Oana Teodora Moldovan & Silviu Cons, 2021. "Initial Upper Palaeolithic humans in Europe had recent Neanderthal ancestry," Nature, Nature, vol. 592(7853), pages 253-257, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:592:y:2021:i:7853:d:10.1038_s41586-021-03335-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03335-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Sarah E. Freidline & Kira E. Westaway & Renaud Joannes-Boyau & Philippe Duringer & Jean-Luc Ponche & Mike W. Morley & Vito C. Hernandez & Meghan S. McAllister-Hayward & Hugh McColl & Clément Zanolli &, 2023. "Early presence of Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia by 86–68 kyr at Tam Pà Ling, Northern Laos," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    2. Tom Higham & Marine Frouin & Katerina Douka & Annamaria Ronchitelli & Paolo Boscato & Stefano Benazzi & Jacopo Crezzini & Vincenzo Spagnolo & Maxine McCarty & Giulia Marciani & Armando Falcucci & Matt, 2024. "Chronometric data and stratigraphic evidence support discontinuity between Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens in the Italian Peninsula," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Leonardo Vallini & Carlo Zampieri & Mohamed Javad Shoaee & Eugenio Bortolini & Giulia Marciani & Serena Aneli & Telmo Pievani & Stefano Benazzi & Alberto Barausse & Massimo Mezzavilla & Michael D. Pet, 2024. "The Persian plateau served as hub for Homo sapiens after the main out of Africa dispersal," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.

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