Smithsonian by Will Sullivan 11/2/2022
The bones of two individuals found in caves helped scientists determine their ancestryNew research indicates that two genetically separate populations of people migrated to the United Kingdom after the last ice age.
Scientists analyzed the remains of two humans who lived about 15,000 and 13,500 years ago, found in caves in England and Wales, respectively, writes Gizmodo’s Isaac Schultz. The results suggest the two individuals, who had different diets and cultures, also had distinct ancestries, reports Science’s Andrew Curry.
The findings, published last week in Nature Ecology & Evolution, come from the oldest human DNA found in the U.K., researchers say. It indicates that a migration, not simply a shift in customs, likely led to the change in culture after the last ice age.
“It’s clearly not the same group of modern humans everywhere,” Luc Amkreutz, an archaeologist at the National Museum of Antiquities in the Netherlands who did not contribute to the research, tells Science. “I think we’ve underestimated the diversity in this period.”
During the last ice age, glaciers were at their largest from roughly 29,000 to 19,000 years ago. Then, as the ice sheets started retreating, humans began moving back to England about 15,500 years ago, per the Guardian’s Nicola Davis.
These prehistoric humans, known as Magdalenians, spread to the north and west as they chased large mammals for food. They crossed over from continental Europe via a now-submerged land bridge called Doggerland.
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/prehistoric-dna-reveals-two-groups-migrated-to-the-uk-after-the-last-ice-age-180981020/
