A new analysis of the Iceman's DNA, a 5,300-year-old mummy found in the Tyrolean Alps, challenges previous assumptions about his ancestry. Scientists had initially suggested that his ancestors came from the Caspian steppe, but this new research indicates that the steppe ancestry is entirely absent. Instead, about 90 percent of the Iceman's genetic heritage is traced back to Neolithic farmers, which is an unusually high proportion compared to other Copper Age remains. The study also reveals that the Iceman had male-pattern baldness and much darker skin than previously believed. This finding highlights that genetic changes for lighter skin tones in Europe occurred much later in human history, with the majority of people in Europe between 40,000 and 8,000 years ago having skin as dark as people in Africa.
This article just gives us another example of how many question marks we have in genetics. There are so many unanswered questions that leave us in the dark. There is a significant time period of ancestry missing between a few hundred years. There is always more work to be done in the field of genetics with all the research and data we can get together to eventually fill the gaps we have.
LINKS:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-otzi-iceman-dna-ancestry-genome
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oetzi-the-iceman-gets-a-new-looks-from-genetic-analysis/
I had no idea that lighter skin in Europe took that long to develop. Everything else is interesting too, but that specifically stuck out to me
ReplyDelete