A new DNA analysis of the Iceman shows that his ancestors were not what scientists previously thought. In 2012, scientists compiled a complete picture of Ötzi's genome, which suggested that a frozen mummy found in a glacier in the Tyrolean Alps had ancestors from the Caspian steppe. But something didn’t add up. Now scientists decided to conduct additional research and organized additional studies, which showed that everything was not as we had previously thought. New discoveries not only reveal the fate of the famous hunter from a new perspective, but also show how future research should be carried out so that it is more accurate. Now we have even more interesting information that you simply cannot miss.
Contents
- 1 Iceman research
- 2 What was man like 5,000 years ago
- 3 Errors in DNA research
- 4 Research on ancient people's DNA
Iceman research
The famous Iceman is about 5,300 years old. Other people with steppe ancestry appeared in the genetic record of Central Europe only about 4,900 years ago. Ötzi «is too old to have such a pedigree», — says archaeogeneticist Johannes Krause from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany). The Mummy «has always been an exception.”
Krause and his colleagues have compiled new genetic instructions for the Iceman. The oldgenome was heavily contaminated with the DNA of modern humans, the researchers report in the journal Cell Genomics. A new analysis shows that the “steppe ancestry has completely disappeared.”
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But the Iceman still has weirdness. According to Krause, about 90 percent of Ötzi's genetic heritage comes from Neolithic farmers, which is unusually high compared to other Copper Age remains.
What Man Was Like 5,000 Years Ago
< p>New Iceman genomealso reveals that he had male pattern baldness and much darker skin than artistic depictions suggest. According to Krause, genes for light skin tone only became common 4,000 to 3,000 years ago, when early farmers began to eat plant foods and did not get as much vitamin D from fish and meat as hunters did.
As the DNA of Ötzi and other ancient people shows, genetic changes in skin color took thousands of years to become common in Europe.
The people who lived in Europe between 40,000 years ago and 8,000 years ago were as dark-skinned as the people in Africa, which makes sense since it was from Africa that people came. We always imagined that Europeans became light-skinned much faster. But now it seems that this actually happened quite late in human history. — reported by Johannes Krause
This discovery has important implications for our understanding of human evolutionand migration processes in ancient Europe. It shows that genetic changes occur gradually and can be associated with changes in lifestyle and diet.
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Errors in DNA research
In addition, Ötzi's new DNA analysis provides scientists with a unique opportunity to study the genetic diversity of European populations during the Neolithic era and early Bronze Age. This may help to better understand how modern European populations were formed and what factors influenced their genetic structure.
The study also highlights the importance of continually reviewing and updating scientific evidence. Ötzi's original DNA analysis in 2012 was revolutionary for its time, but new technologies and analysis methods have allowed scientists to get a more accurate picture.
This work also demonstrates how difficult it can be to interpret ancient DNA. Contamination with modern DNA can significantly distort the results, which highlights the need for careful and repeated analyses when working with ancient samples.
Beethoven’s DNA showed that anyone can be a musical genius.
Ancient Human DNA Research
In the future, scientists plan to continue studying the genome of Ötzi and other ancient Europeans to gain an even more complete picture of the continent’s genetic history. This may help answer many questions about the origins of modern Europeans, their migrations and adaptations to changing environmental conditions.
Thus, a new look at the Iceman's DNA has not only changed our understanding of his origins, but also opened up new perspectives for studying the ancient history of Europe and human evolution in general.