A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany) has succeeded in completing the sequencing of the genome of “Ust-Ishim Man” , an anatomically modern male, who lived in Siberia 45,000 years ago, which makes it the oldest known modern human (the former was the genome of the Mal’ta boy from 24,000 years ago). The work has been published in the journal Nature .
The sequencing was performed from the fossil femur of the “Ust-Ishim man” using a dental drill and, according to the researchers, is of as good quality as the genome sequences available to humans today. The work has provided invaluable information on the early history of modern humans outside of Africa and has helped to date that modern humans and Neanderthals interbred between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago .
“We are very excited to have a high-quality genome sequence from this early modern human. This person lived at a time when Neanderthals were still present in Europe and Western Asia, ”says Janet Kelso, study co-author.
After obtaining powder from the bone of the femur, the experts extracted the DNA using special techniques designed to optimize the amount of DNA that can be recovered from bones as old as these.
“Perhaps most interesting here is that we found direct evidence of the presence of a modern human in Siberia 45,000 years ago , indicating that the first modern human migrations in Eurasia were not solely via a southern route as has been suggested above. Kelso says.
