The Avars dominated southeastern central Europe for hundreds of years, leaving one of the richest archaeological heritages in Europe. Now scientists are using DNA to reveal details of their societies.
A genetic match to an ancient person doesn’t mean you’re more related genealogically.
Mark Edward Atkinson/Tetra Images via Getty Images
Shai Carmi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem e Harald Ringbauer, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Genealogical and genetic ancestors aren’t the same thing. A DNA match − or a lack of one − may not tell you what you imagine it does about your family tree.
After sifting through DNA from almost 10,000 people from ancient and pre-modern societies, we have discovered six cases of Down syndrome in past human populations.
A mold cast of one of the chewed pitch pieces.
Verner Alexandersen
Dogs have lived with Indigenous Americans since before they came to the continent together 10,000 years ago. A new analysis reveals the lineage of one 1800s ‘woolly dog’ from the Pacific Northwest.
Identifying victims after a disaster can offer closure to loved ones.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Maui officials have asked relatives to provide DNA samples to help identify victims of the Lahaina wildfires. Time and exposure to the elements, however, can make DNA retrieval from remains difficult.
Who run the world? Cats!
Grace Cary/Moment via Getty Images
Ancient DNA from Ukraine uncovers the earliest evidence of the arrival of the ‘steppe ancestry’ – the last piece of the modern Western European genetic puzzle.
Ancient DNA preserved in the tooth tartar of human fossils encodes microbial metabolites that could be the next antibiotic.
Werner/Siemens Foundation
Ancient microbes likely produced natural products their descendants today do not. Tapping into this lost chemical diversity could offer a potential source of new drugs.
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Brian Anthony Keeling, Binghamton University, State University of New York e Rolf Quam, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Scientists had figured a fossil found in Spain more than a century ago was from a Neandertal. But a new analysis suggests it could be from a lost lineage of our species, Homo sapiens.
How are people today related to those who lived centuries ago in the Swahili civilization?
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs/Flickr
The first ancient DNA sequences from peoples of the medieval Swahili civilization push aside colonialist stories and reveal genetic connections from the past.
More people moved into Scandinavia in Viking times than at any other time period analysed in the study.
Shutterstock
Humanity carries traces of other populations in our DNA – and a new study shows how one of these ancestors has influenced the immune systems of modern Papuans.
DNA frozen for 2 million years paints a picture of an extinct ecosystem.
Partial layout of the graves discovered during the excavation at the medieval Jewish cemetery of Erfurt.
Thuringian State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology/Karin Sczech + Katharina Bielefeld
A German town needed to relocate a medieval graveyard to build a parking garage. A positive side effect: Scientists got to sequence the DNA of Ashkenazi Jews who lived more than 600 years ago.
A Neanderthal father and his daughter.
Tom Björklund
Ancient DNA from Neanderthal fossils in southern Siberia reveals a small community with close family ties – including a father and his teenage daughter.