First Known Neandertal Family Discovered in Siberian Cave Social Sciences - Anthropology HEAD TOPICS
First Known Neandertal Family Discovered in Siberian Cave
10/21/2022 6:32:00 PM Ancient DNA from closely related individuals offers fresh insight into Neanderthals lives and social structures
Social Sciences Anthropology
Source Scientific American
Ancient DNA from closely related individuals offers fresh insight into Neanderthals lives and social structures Ancient DNA from closely related individuals offers fresh insight into Neanderthals' lives and social structures For the first time, researchers have identified a set of closely related Neanderthals: a father and his teenage daughter and two other, more-distant relatives.The discovery of the family—reported on 19 October in Nature — and seven other individuals (including a pair of possible cousins from another clan) in the same cave, along with two more from a nearby site, represents the largest ever cache of Neanderthal genomes. The findings also suggest that Neanderthal communities were small, and that females routinely left their families to join new groups. Read more:
Scientific American » Siberian cave reveals glimpse into first known Neanderthal family Ancient DNA gives rare snapshot of Neanderthal family ties Ancient DNA unveils Siberian Neandertals’ small-scale social lives Neanderthal family life revealed by ancient DNA from Siberian cave Potato and Broccoli Soup Recipe
In this soup, broccoli stems cook with the potatoes and are pureed to form a creamy base, while broccoli florets add texture to the finished dish. Read more >> Well, this plus Marjorie Taylor Greene’s divorce. Somebody REALLY wants to conclude matrilocality on behalf of ALL NEANDERTHALS - which seems a bit biologically-essentialist. Matrilocality is cultural in modern humans, no reason to believe it wouldn't be for Neanderthals. This is a tremendous blow to progressives. Their very existence hinges on family units being a historically incorrect far right concoction. tt:SaraCarterDC Is it true that neanderthal DNA is still roaming free in that part of the world ? Siberian cave reveals glimpse into first known Neanderthal familyAncient DNA from closely related individuals offers fresh insight into Neanderthals lives and social structures. Thank you so much, Rebecca! Ancient DNA gives rare snapshot of Neanderthal family tiesNEW YORK (AP) — A new study suggests Neanderthals formed small, tightknit communities where females may have traveled to move in with their mates. The research used genetic sleuthing to offer a rare snapshot of Neanderthal family dynamics — including a father and his teenage daughter who lived together in Siberia more than 50,000 years ago. Did they also like shrimp and collect pieces of vinyl? bababoey robertAbooey stern So basically, society has made no progress in 10,000 years. Ancient DNA unveils Siberian Neandertals’ small-scale social livesIncluded in the analysis were a Neandertal father and his teenage daughter as well as an adult female and an 8- to 12-year-old boy, who was possibly her nephew or grandson. Looks like RepMTG ? It's amazing we can determine the gender of people that have been dead thousands of years, yet there are people today that think there is no such thing as differences between the two genders. It has to be the fast food and drugs turning people into waterheads. Amazing Neanderthal family life revealed by ancient DNA from Siberian caveDNA from 11 individuals who lived in Chagyrskaya cave around 51,000 years ago suggests women moved between groups and also shows a high level of inbreeding Ancient DNA reveals first Neanderthal family portrait CNNFor the first time, scientists have been able to directly document the fabric of a Neanderthal family and community — making them seem much more human. Read more: Because they are humans. They wore top clothes of the time. Furs were not forbidden and they hunted for survival not for fun or making profit! They were quite civilized and conscious of their condition! Wanna know more! Keep digging!! Wow like always y'all r behind!!!! About like Don Lemon talking about White Supremacy.... But lives with a White man and all white neighborhood 🤣🤣🤣🤣. The China News Network. Y'all have done a great job looking the other way!!! Like u did about last year's Christmas parade 🤯 Ancient DNA reveals rapid natural selection during the Black DeathPlague pandemic might have led to rapid evolution of immune genes. That some live and some die under environmental stress, such as a plague, is the very defination of evolution by natural selection. So, why did they need to look at the DNA to know that? Set on a rocky outcrop in southern Siberia, Chagyrskaya Cave might not look like much.3 .Are you a mosquito magnet? It could be your smell Since then, scientists have sequenced 18 Neanderthal genomes, said lead author Laurits Skov, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.Bruce Bower 1 hour ago DNA from a group of Neandertals who lived together and a couple of others who lived not far away has yielded the best genetic peek to date into the social worlds of these ancient hominids. But for one family of Neanderthals, it was home. For the first time, researchers have identified a set of closely related Neanderthals: a father and his teenage daughter and two other, more-distant relatives. In 2020, a genome sequence from a female Neanderthal from Chagyrskaya suggested she belonged to population distinct from those that occupied Denisova Cave much earlier 4 . The discovery of the family—reported on 19 October in Nature — and seven other individuals (including a pair of possible cousins from another clan) in the same cave, along with two more from a nearby site, represents the largest ever cache of Neanderthal genomes. The caves, located in remote foothills above a river valley, have been a rich source of materials from stone tools to fossil fragments, Viola said. The findings also suggest that Neanderthal communities were small, and that females routinely left their families to join new groups. Geneticist who unmasked lives of ancient humans wins medicine Nobel The Chagyrskaya remains — teeth and bone fragments — yielded complete and partial genomes from 11 individuals (samples from Okladnikov were poorly preserved, and only two had enough DNA to extract and sequence). Gleaning insights into kinship and social structure is new territory for ancient-genome studies, which have typically focused on broader population history, says Krishna Veeramah, a population geneticist at Stonybrook University in New York. “The fact that we can do this with Neanderthals is incredible. When Skov started comparing the genomes from Chagyrskaya, he got the surprise of his career. These remains usually come in small bits and pieces — “a finger bone here, a tooth there” — but they’re enough for scientists to extract valuable DNA details.” Buried treasure Set on the banks of the Charysh River in the foothills of the Altai mountains, Chagyrskaya is 100 kilometres west of Denisova Cave, an archaeological treasure trove in which humans, Neanderthals, Denisovans (and at least one Neanderthal–Denisovan hybrid) all lived intermittently over some 300,000 years. Excavations of Chagyrskaya, however, have so far revealed only Neanderthal remains, dated to between 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, and characteristic stone tools. To determine the relationship, the researchers examined mitochondrial DNA — which is maternally inherited and would therefore be identical between siblings and between a mother and child, but not between a father and child. In 2020, a genome sequence from a female Neanderthal from Chagyrskaya suggested she belonged to population distinct from those that occupied Denisova Cave much earlier. Overall, the analysis found that everyone in the group had a lot of DNA in common. To study the cave’s inhabitants in greater depth, a team of researchers led by palaeogeneticist Laurits Skov and population geneticist Benjamin Peter at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, extracted DNA from 17 other ancient-human remains from Chagyrskaya, as well as several from a nearby cave, called Okladnikov. The researchers found more family members as they continued to examine the genetic material. The Chagyrskaya remains—teeth and bone fragments—yielded complete and partial genomes from 11 individuals (samples from Okladnikov were poorly preserved, and only two had enough DNA to extract and sequence). With this trove, the researchers confirmed that Chagyrskaya’s residents were more closely related to Neanderthals living in Europe around the same time than to those who occupied Denisova Cave tens of thousands of years earlier. Heteroplasmies usually vanish after a few generations, says Skov, so the three probably lived around the same time. Researchers looked at other genetic clues from mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down on the mother’s side, and the Y chromosome, which is passed down on the father’s side. When Skov started comparing the genomes from Chagyrskaya, he got the surprise of his career. Two individuals, an adult male and a teenage female, shared half of their DNA, a situation that could occur only if they were siblings or a parent and child. “It makes you wonder what the familial relationship between these individuals were and how they were interacting with each other,” says Skov. To determine the relationship, the researchers examined mitochondrial DNA—which is maternally inherited and would therefore be identical between siblings and between a mother and child, but not between a father and child. ADVERTISEMENT University of Wisconsin anthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved in the study, said the research was an exciting application of ancient DNA evidence, even as many questions remain about Neanderthal social structures and lifestyles. This differed between the male and female, suggesting that they were father and daughter.” Social structures The glut of Neanderthal genomes — which nearly doubles the number now available — has allowed researchers to look at other aspects of Neanderthal life. The researchers found more family members as they continued to examine the genetic material. They found that the father had two types of mitochondrial DNA—a characteristic known as heteroplasmy—that were shared by two other adult males from the cave, suggesting that they were all from the same maternal lineage. Researchers have uncovered similar patterns in mountain gorillas, which typically live in communities of fewer than 20 individuals, and other threatened species.” ——— The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. Heteroplasmies usually vanish after a few generations, says Skov, so the three probably lived around the same time. His team also identified members of another Neanderthal family: a male and female who were second-degree relatives, such as cousins. One explanation for this is a steady influx of females from different Neanderthal communities, Skov says. “It makes you wonder what the familial relationship between these individuals were and how they were interacting with each other,” says Skov. “It is a little glimpse into a Neanderthal family. “I think we can say this social structure was present in most Neanderthals,” says palaeogeneticist Carles Lalueza-Fox, director of the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, Spain.” Social structures The glut of Neanderthal genomes—which nearly doubles the number now available—has allowed researchers to look at other aspects of Neanderthal life. The genomes of the Chagyrskaya Neanderthals all had low diversity between maternal and paternal copies, a sign that the interconnected population of breeding adults was low. This makes Lalueza-Fox wonder whether it was mobile Neanderthal women who encountered — and mated with — Homo sapiens in other parts of Eurasia. Researchers have uncovered similar patterns in mountain gorillas, which typically live in communities of fewer than 20 individuals, and other threatened species. The researchers also found that the maternally inherited mitochondrial genomes were vastly more diverse than were the Y-chromosomes, which are passed down along the male line. “Until you get more points on the board, you can’t tell,” says Veeramah. One explanation for this is a steady influx of females from different Neanderthal communities, Skov says. Modelling from the team suggests that the patterns observed in genetic diversity would occur if more than half of women in small communities were born elsewhere. Especially perplexing is the presence of one baby teeth and two barely worn permanent teeth belonging to the same adolescent male. “I think we can say this social structure was present in most Neanderthals,” says palaeogeneticist Carles Lalueza-Fox, director of the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, Spain. A decade ago, his team analysed 12 Neanderthals buried in a Spanish cave and found diverse mitochondrial DNA in women, but not in men, which they interpreted as evidence that females had left their communities. Early European may have had Neanderthal great-great-grandparent Chagyrskaya Cave is also chock full of bison and horse remains, and Skov and his colleagues think that the site served as a hunting camp of sorts during these animals’ seasonal migrations. This makes Lalueza-Fox wonder whether it was mobile Neanderthal women who encountered—and mated with—Homo sapiens in other parts of Eurasia. Other scientists caution that Neanderthal groups living elsewhere or at other times might have adopted different social customs. “I don’t think Neanderthals were planning to meet up with each other, but it offers that opportunity. “Until you get more points on the board, you can’t tell,” says Veeramah. Rebecca Wragg Sykes, a writer and archaeologist at the University of Liverpool, UK, is surprised that remains from so many related individuals—who were part of highly mobile hunter-gathering communities—have been recovered from one site. Only one-third of the cave has been excavated so far, and Skov and his colleagues have analysed less than one-quarter of the Neanderthal remains already discovered. Especially perplexing is the presence of one baby teeth and two barely worn permanent teeth belonging to the same adolescent male. “To me, it suggests that this community of Neanderthals, either they tend to stay in their sites for quite a long time, or they revisit them very often,” she says. “She’s probably also in there,” he says. Chagyrskaya Cave is also chock full of bison and horse remains, and Skov and his colleagues think that the site served as a hunting camp of sorts during these animals’ seasonal migrations. These hunts could have created opportunities for disparate Neanderthal communities to meet and mix, Sykes suggests.org/10. “I don’t think Neanderthals were planning to meet up with each other, but it offers that opportunity.” The Chagyrskaya family is likely to grow. Only one-third of the cave has been excavated so far, and Skov and his colleagues have analysed less than one-quarter of the Neanderthal remains already discovered. Skov hopes that future studies can build more complete Neanderthal family trees—and perhaps find the teenage girl’s mother. “She’s probably also in there,” he says. This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on October 19 2022. .