All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

DNA

Main: A DNA molecule (C. Bock/Wikimedia Commons). Inset: Two Melanesian girls

Ancient Denisovan DNA discovered in modern Pacific Islanders

The archaic Denisovan and Neanderthal DNA that persists in modern individuals from the Pacific islands of Melanesia could be a source of new information about early human history, according to a...
A three-dimensional volume rendering of the Tuli mummy.

Scans and DNA tests reveal the secrets of a rare African mummy

Natasha Joseph / The Conversation He lay alone in a shallow grave at the base of a cliff for hundreds of years. Then, in 2008, patrol staff at a game lodge stumbled across the man’s remains - and he...
Posthumous portrait of Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1519.

Two New Theories on the Hotly Debated Origins of Christopher Columbus

During the last few years two new and very interesting theories (supported with scientific research) have appeared about Columbus. They suggest that the history of the man who “discovered” America,...
A reconstructed Neanderthal skeleton, right, is displayed next to a modern human skeleton at the Museum of Natural History in New York.

Neanderthals Mated with Modern Humans Much Earlier than Previously Thought, Study Finds

Using several different methods of DNA analysis, an international research team has found what they consider to be strong evidence of an interbreeding event between Neanderthals and modern humans...
The new study says that Neanderthal DNA influences many physical traits in people of European and Asian heritage.

Study Casts New Light on Diseases We Inherited from Neanderthals

Feeling depressed? Can’t kick the tobacco habit? Sun causing skin lesions? Allergies bothering you? Some people of today may blame their Neanderthal ancestry in part for some of these health problems...
‘The Stone Age’ (1882-1885), detail of a painting by Viktor M. Vasnetsov.

Why Did Hunter-gatherer Group in Europe Unexpectedly Disappear After the Last Ice Age?

A recent study has shown that a group of hunter-gatherers had survived the last Ice Age while living in the modern location of Europe, only to unexpectedly disappear about 14,500 years ago. As the...
One of the skeletons excavated by York Archaeological Trust at Driffield Terrace had his head positioned near his feet.

Animal-bitten, Wounded, and Decapitated—Who were these Roman-era Men Buried near York?

A team of researchers using DNA analysis has determined a group of decapitated, animal-bitten, injured men from Roman-era Britain were mostly of European origin, but one was from the Middle East,...
A family migrating to western US in 1886.

Here’s How Genetics Helped Crack the History of Human Migration

Over the past 25 years, scientists have supported the view that modern humans left Africa around 50,000 years ago, spreading to different parts of the world by replacing resident human species like...
The Iceman's hand.

Further Tales of the Family of the Iceman Come to Light

Just last week it became known that the Iceman (also known as Ötzi) was infected with the bacterium H. pylori when he was killed. Now, researchers looking at his mtDNA have pinpointed the origins of...
Neolithic farmers

New Study Indicates that Europe Owes Ancestry and Agriculture to Early Anatolian Farmers

Anatolia was a source of not just agriculture but of human ancestry during the advent of farming in Europe around 8,000 years ago, according to a researcher from Stockholm University. “When farming...
The skull of the Neolithic woman excavated in 1855 in Ballynahatty, Northern Ireland.

Researchers Reveal How a Celtic Curse Fell Upon the Ancient Irish 4000 Years Ago and the Importance of Migration to Irish Prehistory

While researchers were analyzing the genes of prehistoric Irish ancestors they discovered that the beginning of a “Celtic Curse” (haemochromatosis) probably arose 4,000 years ago with a wave of...
Top 10 Human Origins Discoveries in 2015

Top 10 Human Origins Discoveries in 2015

In 2015, DNA analysis provided deeper insight into the lives of our ancient ancestors. Studies of their appearance, diet, living conditions, and the human family tree, were all hot topics. Research...
A Tamaskan dog. Tamaskan have wolf-like appearances.

New Study Suggests that Man and Dog Have Been Close Friends for 33,000 Years

A new study reveals that the origin of man’s best friend may not have been where, or when, the scientific community previously believed. The analysis of a variety of ancient canine DNA has also...
The Akhal-Teke, golden horse

DNA tests reveal rare golden horse buried in 2,000-year-old Chinese tomb

Archaeologists in China have carried out DNA tests on five horses found in a Western Han Dynasty tomb complex in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and discovered that one of the horses was a very rare...
This skeleton was of a woman who was a first generation Londoner with northern European ancestry who was likely born in Britain. She was buried with grave goods that made researchers think she was of high status in her community.

Roman-Era London May Have Been as Ethnically Diverse as Today

London appears to have been just as ethnically diverse when it was founded by ancient Romans as it is now, when only 45 percent of its residents are Caucasian and people of various neighborhoods...
Ancient European hunters face an Uro (European bison).

8000 Years of European Evolution Disclosed by Genome Study

Through the analysis of 230 samples of prehistoric genome, scientists believe they have identified the genes that gave rise to the European Neolithic revolution - with the transition from hunting and...
Denisova Cave, Russia. Inset: Denisovan molar discovered in Denisova Cave, Replica in Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, Belgium.

DNA from Ancient Denisovan Tooth Sheds Light on Mysterious Human Relative

The Denisovans are a mysterious hominid species that we only know about from two molar teeth and the bone of a pinky finger discovered in the remote Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia...
Photos of the child mummy that may have been sacrificed in a ritual of Capacocha. Above left, detail of the mummy’s dissected lung. A small sample of 350 milligrams (0.01 ounces) was used to extract DNA in the current study.

Genetic Analysis of a Frozen Andean Mummy Reveals a Previously Unknown Lineage

In 1985, a frozen and half buried mummy of a young boy was recovered from the mountain of Aconcagua in Argentina. Now, a team of scientists have managed to extract and sequence his mitochondrial DNA...
DNA was extracted from the molar teeth of this skeleton, dating from almost 10,000 years ago and found in the Kotias Klde rockshelter in Western Georgia.

Fourth strand of European ancestry originated with hunter-gatherers isolated by Ice Age

Populations of hunter-gatherers weathered the Ice Age in apparent isolation in Caucasus mountain region for millennia, later mixing with other ancestral populations, from which emerged the Yamnaya...
The bull-leaping fresco of Knossos palace, in Crete, Greece, dated to about 1600 to 1450 BC. The bull was an important animal in Minoan religion and closely related to the great goddess the Cretans worshiped.

Origins of the Mysterious Minoans Unraveled by Scientists

The Minoan people of Crete—Europe’s first high civilization—present a mystery that has long perplexed scholars and inspired much speculation: Where did these people, whose culture and artifacts...
The tiny remains were found at the ancient Upward Sun River site in Alaska, USA.

Rare Bones and DNA of tiny children surprise scientists, support ideas about migration into the Americas 11,000 years ago

The small bodies of infants buried in an ancient campsite in the wilds of Alaska have given researchers a surprising and unprecedented look into the lives of prehistoric peoples and the ancient...
11th century Pre-Columbian mummy who has surprised scientists with antibiotic-resistant genes.

Ancient Peruvian Mummy Surprises Researchers with Antibiotic-Resistant Genes

A mummy uncovered at the ancient site of Cusco in Peru has surprised scientists with what was contained in its gut. Genes linked to antibiotic resistance have been found in the Pre-Columbian mummy’s...
Artist’s depiction of ancient hominids.

How Ancient Hominid Interbreeding has Shaped Humans Today

Over the past half-decade, ancient DNA research has revealed some surprising aspects to our evolutionary history during the past 50,000 years. Perhaps the most startling of these has been the extent...
Deriv; A DNA molecule and replica of fossil skull of Homo ergaster

Vast Eurasian Migration Back to Africa Revealed by Bones of 4,500-year-old Ethiopian Man

An ancient African genome has been sequenced for the first time ever with the discovery of a 4,500-year-old skeleton in a cave in Ethiopia. DNA recovered from the bones suggest that a vast migration...

Pages