Ancient DNA provides rare snapshot of Neanderthal family ties

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study suggests that Neanderthals formed small, close-knit communities where women may have traveled to live with their mates.

The research used genetic detective work to offer a rare snapshot of Neanderthal family dynamics — including a father and his teenage daughter who lived together in Siberia more than 50,000 years ago.

Researchers have been able to extract DNA from tiny bone fragments found in two Russian caves. In their study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, they used the genetic data to map the relationships between 13 different Neanderthals and get clues about how they lived.

“When I’m working on a bone or two, it’s very easy to forget that these are actually people with their own lives and stories,” said study author Bence Viola, an anthropologist at the University of Toronto. “Finding out how they’re related really makes them that much more human.”

Our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals, lived in Europe and Asia for hundreds of thousands of years. They became extinct about 40,000 years ago, shortly after our species, Homo sapiens, arrived in Europe from Africa.

Scientists have only recently managed to dig into the DNA of these early humans. New Nobel laureate Svante Paabo – author of this latest study – published the first draft of a Neanderthal genome just over a decade ago.

Since then, scientists have sequenced 18 Neanderthal genomes, said lead author Laurits Skov, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. But it’s rare to find bones from multiple Neanderthals from the same time and place, he said — that’s why these cave discoveries were so special.

“If there was ever a chance to find a Neanderthal community, this would be it,” Skov said.

The caves, located in remote foothills above a river valley, were a rich source of materials ranging from stone tools to fossil fragments, Viola said. Researchers believe the caves, with their excellent views of migrating herds in the valley below, may have served as a short-term hunting stop for Neanderthals.

Archaeologists who excavated the caves have found remains of at least a dozen different Neanderthals, Viola said. These remains usually come in small bits and pieces — “a finger bone here, a tooth there” — but they’re enough for scientists to extract valuable DNA details.

The researchers were able to identify a few relatives in the group. Besides the father and daughter there were a few other relatives – maybe a boy and his aunt or a couple of cousins.

Overall, the analysis revealed that everyone in the group shared a lot of DNA. This suggests that Neanderthals lived in very small communities of 10 to 20 individuals, at least in this area, the authors concluded.

But not all of those groups stayed put, according to the study.

The researchers looked at other genetic clues from the mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on the maternal side, and the Y chromosome, which is passed on the paternal side.

The female side showed more genetic differences than the male side – meaning the females may have exercised more, Skov said. It is possible that a female Neanderthal, once she found a mate, would leave her home to live with her family.

University of Wisconsin anthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved in the study, said the research is an exciting application of ancient DNA evidence, although many questions remain about Neanderthal social structures and lifestyles.

Figuring out how early humans lived is like “putting together a jigsaw puzzle with many, many missing pieces,” Hawks said. But this study means “someone has put even more pieces on the table.”

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