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Representational image of human teeth used to analyze details about Native American migration. Source: ia_64 / Adobe Stock

Study of Ancient Teeth Shows Single Native American Migration from Asia

The analysis of human teeth recovered during archaeological excavations has remained a standard means of investigating ancient migration patterns for the last five decades. In fact, this tried-and-...

Decoding Viking Origins: Genetic Clues Paint a New Picture (Video)

The word " Viking " evokes vivid images of mighty, fair-haired seafarers pillaging coastal settlements. Yet is this portrayal an accurate reflection of their genetic makeup? Groundbreaking...
Ancient DNA analysis is unlocking secrets about the genetic legacy of the Levites of ancient Israel. Source: Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing/ CC BY-SA 3.0 overlayed and cropped onto ankreative / Adobe Stock

Ancient DNA Analysis Reconstructs Legacy of the Biblical Levites

The biblical Levites were a group of people from the tribe of Levi set apart for religious service in ancient Israel. The most famous Levite was Aaron, Moses 's big brother and the first priest. The...
The latest innovation in home DNA tests uses ancient DNA to reveal unique insights into ancestry. Source: cooperr / Adobe Stock

Are You Related To An Ancient VIP?

Home DNA testing has exploded in popularity in recent years, with millions of people around the world using these kits to learn more about their ancestry and genetic health risks. However, while...
Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test results for Native American ancestry created a lot of controversy. Source: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0, MicroOne /Adobe Stock

Senator Warren’s Mishap Proves the Importance of Reliable Genetic Ancestry Tests

In the lead up to the 2020 US presidential election and the party primaries, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren led President Donald Trump by four percentage points in the polls . Warren fared...
Geneticist contemplating his DNA dataset. Source: Grispb / Adobe Stock

Conclusions About Ancient Populations May be Drastically Wrong Due to Dodgy Method

Hundreds of thousands of peer-reviewed papers in genetics employ a method called Principal Component Analysis. But new research shows this method is highly biased. This means that multitudes of major...
Ancient Uruguayan DNA is being used to understand the migrations of indigenous peoples to South America. This image shows a scientist working in bio-archaeology lab.                        		    Source: Microgen / Adobe Stock

Indigenous Uruguayan DNA Reveals Ancestry New To South America

A new study presents the first whole genome sequences of Uruguayan indigenous peoples, whose last remnants were wiped out in the 18th century through a series of targeted European military campaigns...
Were the Merovingians Descended from a Monster? Meet the Quinotaur

Were the Merovingians Descended from a Monster? Meet the Quinotaur

You’ve probably heard of a Minotaur (half-man, half-bull), but what about a Quinotaur? In early Frankish history there was a “beast of Neptune” which was said to look like a creature called a...
Artist’s impression showing what the exterior of the Neolithic tomb cairn at Hazleton North may have looked like. Courtesy of Corinium Museum, copyright Cotswold District Council.		Source: Courtesy of Corinium Museum, © Cotswold District Council / Nature

‘World’s Oldest Family Tree’ Revealed in Neolithic Tomb in England

Genome sequencing of 35 individuals from the best-preserved Neolithic tomb in B Tomb in England ritain has revealed that 27 of the individuals were the children of 4 women – and just one man! This...
One of the ancient Japanese skulls from which DNA was extracted. Credit: Shigeki Nakagome / Trinity College Dublin

Ancient DNA Rewrites Story of Japanese Ancestry

The archipelago nation of Japan has been occupied since the Upper Paleolithic period (36,000 BC), and dual genomic Japanese ancestry has been the dominant theory, up until now. A new study carried...
The Japanese population is descended from the Minatogawa man, depicted here in an artistic reconstruction. Source: Teruya Yamamoto / National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo

Did Japanese Population Originate with this Minatogawa Man?

A new scientific report published in Nature has concluded that the modern Japanese descended from the Minatogawa people of the Paleolithic era. This is based on a DNA study of a 20,000-year-old human...
Anglo-Saxon chieftain. Who were the Anglo-Saxons? Source: Archivist /Adobe Stock

Who were the Anglo-Saxons? Peaceful Settlers or Barbarians?

The skull shapes of ancient Anglo-Saxons have revealed that they were bonded not so much by genetic heritage as their shared language and culture. What they farmed and how they fought is well...
10,000-years-ago Irish Hunter-Gatherers Were Dark-Skinned

10,000-years-ago Irish Hunter-Gatherers Were Dark-Skinned

RTÉ, Ireland’s National Television and Radio Broadcaster, recently brought to our screens filmmaker Katrina Costello’s bold and groundbreaking two-part documentary – The Burren: Heart of Stone ...
Did Denisovan ancestry reach European megalith builders? Source: adrenalinapura / Adobe Stock

The Far-Reaching Realms of Denisovan Ancestry Stretch to Iceland

This week it was announced that a new genetic study published in the journal Nature shows that the genomes of over 27,000 Icelanders display an admixture of modern human and Neanderthal DNA, along...
An artist's rendering of the ancient wormlike creature called Ikaria wariootia. Source: Sohail Wasif/UCR

Rice-Sized Ancient Worms are the Ancestors of All Animals

Geologists have discovered the first ancestor on the family tree that contains most animals today, including humans. The ancient worm-like creature , Ikaria wariootia , is the earliest bilaterian, or...
Surface model of the Xiahe mandible after digital removal of the adhering carbonate crust. Source: Jean-Jacques Hublin, ResearchGate.

The Teeth Have It: Tracing the Denisovan Legacy Around the World

A dental trait found in the Xiahe Denisovan jawbone as well as in some ancient and modern human populations now provides a rare opportunity to track the geographical reach and perhaps even the final...
Ezekiel’s vision ‘The Valley of Dry Bones”.      Source: loswl / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Resurrecting the Ancient Israelites From the Valley of Dry Bones

The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones prophecy is one of the most powerful prophecies of the prophet Ezekiel . In this vision, Ezekiel finds himself in a valley full of dry human bones of Israelite...
The ancient Crusaders' DNA can help us understand historical events. Source: Alessandro Cristiano / Adobe.

A History of the Crusades As Told by Crusaders' DNA

History can tell us a lot about the Crusades , the series of religious wars fought between 1095 and 1291, in which Christian invaders tried to claim the Near East. But the DNA of nine 13th century...
Testing of DNA molecules

DNA Tool Allows You To Trace Your Ancient Ancestry

University of Sheffield Scientists at the University of Sheffield studying ancient DNA have created a tool allowing them to more accurately identify ancient Eurasian populations, which can be used to...
Genealogy of the Incas by Cuzco School. 18th or early 19th century.

Creation Myths Hold Hard Facts About Our Ancient Origins

The largest pre-Hispanic civilization in the Americas was the Inca Empire and from their capital city of Cusco, rulers known as Sapa Inka (Quechua for "the only Inca”) controlled a vast territory...
Close up of the model of Cheddar Man rendered by Kennis & Kennis Reconstructions

Blue Eyed, Black Skinned British Hunter Closes Race Debate

A 10,000-year-old hunter had “dark to black” skin, a groundbreaking DNA analysis of Britain’s oldest complete skeleton has revealed. The Cheddar Man fossil was unearthed in Gough’s Cave in Somerset...
King Arthur monument in Tintagel, Cornwall.(left), Excalibur in Brocéliande Forest, Brittany, France.(right)

Has the King Arthur Gene Been Traced?

If stories of King Arthur and his knights are based on real people their DNA markers should still be with us today. New DNA research has perhaps found the King Arthur gene. The Genetic Lead R1b-L513...
Rock art in central Northumberland, northern England. (Author provided)

What Neolithic Rock Art Can Tell Us About the Way Our Ancestors Lived 6,000 Years Ago

The British and Irish countryside is often celebrated for its wealth of unique places of heritage, significance and interest. But not many people know that this heritage includes thousands of ancient...
Image of reconstructed faces of three early humans in profile view.

Sorry European racial “purists,” it turns out your ancestors were African and Middle Eastern

People throughout history have taken pride in their ancestral roots, but new studies of migrations of people into Europe and elsewhere are showing that no one’s heritage is “pure.” Or if humanity’s...

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