Scientists Reconstruct Africa’s Oldest Human Genomes

Reconstructing Ancient Genomes

Researchers reconstructed the oldest human genomes from South Africa, based on the remains of two individuals who lived about 10,000 years ago, providing a deeper understanding of how the region was populated, explained one of the authors of the study on Sunday.

A man and a woman whose remains researchers found in a rock shelter near the coastal town of George, about 370 kilometers east of Cape Town, provided the genetic sequences, according to Victoria Gibbon, a biological anthropology professor at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

Insights from the Oakhurst Shelter

Researchers reconstructed these two individuals from 13 sequences obtained from human remains found at the Oakhurst shelter, which date from 1,300 to 10,000 years ago.Prior to these discoveries, the oldest genomes reconstructed from the region were approximately 2,000 years old.

A surprising finding was that the oldest genomes were genetically similar to those from the San and Khoekhoe groups that still inhabit the same area, UCT stated in a release.

Stability vs. Change in Genetic History

According to Joscha Gretzinger, the lead author of the study, genetic analyses in other parts of the world, such as Europe, have revealed significant genetic changes due to human migrations over the last 10,000 years. However, the new results from southern Africa show a relatively stable genetic history in the region.

Researchers suggest that newcomers disrupted stability around 1,200 years ago by introducing herding, agriculture, and new languages while interacting with local hunter-gatherer groups.

Gibbon explained that although some of the earliest evidence of modern humans originates in southern Africa, researchers often find the remains poorly preserved. New technologies have made it possible for scientists to obtain these DNA sequences.

Limited Ancient Genomic Recovery

Unlike in Europe and Asia, where researchers have reconstructed the genomes of thousands of ancient people, scientists have recovered fewer than two dozen ancient genomes from southern Africa, specifically from Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia.

Sites like Oakhurst are rare in South Africa and have allowed for a better understanding of local population movements and relationships across the landscape over nearly 9,000 years, Gibbon said.

Read the original Article: Science Alert

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