Sunday, April 26, 2015

Ancient DNA Confirms That Proto-Arignacian Was Human Not Neanderthal

An mtDNA sample from the tooth of a Proto-Arignacian individual whom radiocarbon data confirms died 40,170 to 35,650 years before present, was a modern human and not a Neanderthal.

This had been the prevailing opinion regarding the species identity of the Proto-Arignacians and is also consistent with the modern features of the tooth, but this hypothesis had not previously been confirmed with DNA evidence.  This mtDNA sample is quite similar to that of the Ust Ishim individual whose 45,000 year old DNA from Siberia was recently announced.

This discovery further advances a narrative in which the Proto-Arignacians, as the first wave of modern humans in Europe, are the proximate cause of the extinction of the Neanderthals.

1 comment:

Ryan said...

5-11% Neanderthal with admixture only 4-6 back. So it might be fairer to say that the Proto-Arignacian was mostly modern humans.