An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has sequenced the oldest known genomes of modern humans. These belong to seven individuals who lived between 42,000 and 49,000 years ago in the regions of Ranis, Germany, and Zlatý kůň, Czechia. The findings offer a unique insight into early human migrations in Europe and their interactions with the Neanderthals who already inhabited the region.

The analyzed individuals were part of a small, closely related human group that split from the population that left Africa around 50,000 years ago. Although they diverged early from their origins, genetic analyses reveal they shared an interbreeding event with Neanderthals common to all current non-African humans. This event, previously thought to be older, is now dated to between 45,000 and 49,000 years ago.

One key focus of this research is Zlatý kůň, where a complete human skull dating back around 45,000 years was previously found. Although the initial genetic analysis provided insights into this individual, their connection to defined archaeological groups remained uncertain. About 230 km away, in Ranis, lies the Ilsenhöhle cave, known for a specific cultural tradition, the Jerzmanowician, whose attribution to modern humans or Neanderthals has been a subject of debate. Previous studies had indicated, based on mitochondrial DNA, that the Ranis remains belonged to modern humans, but full genetic information was lacking until now.

The new research connects both locations. A fifth- or sixth-degree genetic relationship was identified between the individual from Zlatý kůň and two of the six modern humans identified in Ranis. This indicates that both groups belonged to the same extended family and likely shared a similar lifestyle, including tool-making.

First European homo sapiens
Illustration of the Zlatý kůň/Ranis group. Around 45,000 years ago, individuals from Ranis in Germany and Zlatý kůň in Czechia likely traveled together across the open steppe landscapes of Europe. Credit: Tom Björklund / Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

High-quality DNA extracted from a male individual in Ranis (named Ranis13) and the Zlatý kůň skull allowed for the reconstruction of phenotypic traits of these early Europeans. Analyses show they had genetic variants associated with dark skin, dark hair, and brown eyes, features reflecting their recent African origin. Furthermore, the population they came from appears to have been extremely small, consisting of only a few hundred individuals spread across a wide territory. However, they left no genetic traces in later European populations, suggesting that they went extinct or did not genetically contribute to future generations.

A critical aspect of this study is the evidence that these individuals do not show signs of recent interbreeding with Neanderthals after arriving in Europe, despite coexisting with them. This contrasts with later human groups that did inherit Neanderthal DNA from more recent interbreeding events. Researchers suggest that the population from Zlatý kůň and Ranis may have entered Europe through different routes or had less direct contact with Neanderthals.

By analyzing shared Neanderthal DNA segments, it was confirmed that the initial interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans occurred before the separation of these groups, between 45,000 and 49,000 years ago. This finding places the individuals from Zlatý kůň and Ranis as representatives of one of the earliest human divergences outside Africa.

These results emphasize that any modern human remains outside Africa older than 50,000 years could not belong to the common non-African population that interbred with Neanderthals and whose descendants are found throughout the world today.

In the words of Johannes Krause, lead author of the study, these discoveries offer a new perspective on the earliest human pioneers in Europe and their complex interactions with the environment and contemporary species.

SOURCES

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Sümer, A.P., Rougier, H., Villalba-Mouco, V. et al. Earliest modern human genomes constrain timing of Neanderthal admixture. Nature (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08420-x

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