Britain’s oldest surviving human DNA revealing two distinct Paleolithic populations

Newswise – The first genetic data from Paleolithic people in the UK – the oldest human DNA obtained from the British Isles so far – suggests the presence of two distinct groups that arrived in Britain at the end of the last Ice Age, new research finds immigrated .

Published today in natural ecology and evolution, The new study by the UCL Institute of Archaeology, the Natural History Museum and researchers at the Francis Crick Institute shows for the first time that the recolonization of Britain consisted of at least two groups with different origins and cultures.

The study team examined DNA evidence from a person from Gough’s Cave, Somerset, and a person from Kendrick’s Cave, North Wales, both of whom lived more than 13,500 years ago. Very few skeletons of this age exist in Britain, with around a dozen found in six locations. The study, which included radiocarbon dating and analysis as well as DNA extraction and sequencing, shows it is possible to extract useful genetic information from some of the country’s oldest human skeletal materials.

The authors say these genome sequences now represent the earliest chapter of Britain’s genetic history, but ancient DNA and proteins promise to take us even further back in human history.

The researchers found that the DNA of the Gough’s Cave individual, who died around 15,000 years ago, indicates their ancestors were part of an initial migration to north-western Europe around 16,000 years ago. However, the individual from Kendrick’s Cave dates to a later date, around 13,500 years ago, descending from a western hunter-gatherer group. The ancestors of this group are believed to have come from the Middle East and migrated to Britain around 14,000 years ago.

The co-author of the study, Dr. Mateja Hajdinjak (Francis Crick Institute), said: “That the two ancestors in Britain are so close in time, and separated by only about a millennium, contributes to the emerging picture of Paleolithic Europe, one of shifting and dynamic populations .”

The authors note that these migrations took place after the last Ice Age, when about two-thirds of Britain was covered by glaciers. As the climate warmed and glaciers melted, drastic ecological and environmental changes took place and people began moving back to northern Europe.

The co-author of the study, Dr. Sophy Charlton, who conducted the study while she was at the Natural History Museum, said: “The period 20 to 10,000 years ago that we were interested in is part of the Paleolithic – the Upper Paleolithic. This is an important environmental time period for the UK as there would have been significant global warming, an increase in forest cover and changes in the types of animals available for hunting.”

The two groups were found to be not only genetically but also culturally distinct, with differences in what they ate and how they buried their dead.

The co-author of the study, Dr. Rhiannon Stevens (UCL Institute of Archaeology) said: “Chemical analyzes of the bones showed that the individuals from Kendrick’s Cave ate a large amount of marine and freshwater food, including large marine mammals.

“People in Gough’s Cave, however, showed no sign of eating marine and freshwater foods, and ate primarily terrestrial herbivores such as deer, bovids (like wild cattle called aurochs), and horses.”

The researchers discovered that the burial practices of the two groups also differed. Although animal bones have been found in Kendrick’s Cave, there have also been wearable art objects, such as an ornate horse jawbone. No animal bones were found showing signs of being eaten by humans, and the scientists say this suggests the cave was used as a burial ground by its occupants.

In contrast, animal and human bones found in Gough’s Cave showed significant human modifications, including human skulls transformed into “skull cups,” which the researchers believe to be evidence of ritual cannibalism. Individuals from this earlier population appear to be the same people who created the Magdalenian stone tools, a culture also known for iconic cave art and bone artifacts.

Gough’s Cave is also the site where Britain’s famous Cheddar Man was discovered in 1903, dated to between 10,564 and 9,915 years BC. In this study, Cheddar Man was found to have a mixture of ancestry, mostly (85%) Western hunter-gatherers and some (15%) of the older type from the original migration.

co-author dr. Selina Brace (Natural History Museum) said: “We really wanted to find out more about who these early populations in Britain might have been.

“We knew from our previous work, including the study of Cheddar Man, that western hunter-gatherers lived in Britain around 10,500 years BC, but we didn’t know when they first arrived in Britain and if this was the only population was present.”

Notes for editors

· The human remains from Kendrick’s Cave are on display in the Llandudno Museum with permission of Conwy County Borough Council and in Gough’s Cave in the Natural History Museum with permission of the Longleat Estate.

· The Deglacial (end of the last Ice Age) began about 20,000 years ago.

· During the Late Ice Age, which began around 14,700 years ago and ended at the beginning of the Holocene around 11,700 years ago, there was rapid global warming.

· The reported early southwestern European ancestry has been linked to Magdalenian-associated individuals closely related to those from sites such as El Mirón Cave, Spain, and Troisième Cave in Goyet, Belgium.

· Western hunter-gatherer ancestors have been associated with Epigravetic, Azilian/Penknife, Epipalaeolithic, and Mesolithic cultures.

· Britain’s famous Cheddar Man was also found in Gough’s Cave. Cheddar Man is dated 10,564-9,915 years BC. and interestingly, it was found in this study to have a mixture of ancestry, mostly (85%) Western hunter-gatherers but also some (15%) of the older southwestern European ancestors.

About the Natural History Museum

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About the UCL Institute of Archaeology

The UCL Institute of Archeology is one of the largest centers for archaeology, heritage and museology in Great Britain. Founded in 1937, its staff and students actively conduct research on a global scale in the archaeological sciences, heritage studies, and world archaeology.

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About the Francis Crick Institute

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