Researchers found the oldest DNA of humans while investigating ancient remains found in England and Wales. They determined that the human DNAs might be some of the oldest in the UK. According to scientists, the DNA hints at two unrelated groups in Britain, which migrated to the island during the last ice age.
Nature Ecology and Evolution published the research, which is of great value, according to the researchers of ancient DNA, as the existence of two ancestries almost only a millennium apart adds to the picture of the European continent, which is a dynamic and changing population.
The DNA was found from the remains obtained in the caves of England and Wales, which were of two individuals. The remains found in the caves of England date to not less than 15,000 years ago, whereas the remains found in Wales date to almost 13,500 years ago.
The scientists discovered the recent remains from Kendrick’s Cave in Wales and the older ones from Somerset’s Gough’s Cave.
Britain was attached to the European continent by Doggerland 15,000 years ago; the land bridge, which is now submerged after melting glaciers and rising sea level, cut off the island.
The researchers compared and sequenced the DNA with that found in North Africa and West Eurasia to find out the histories of the individuals. The ancestors of the individual whose remains were found in Gough’s Cave arrived in migration from northwestern Europe around 16,000 years ago. The ancestors of the Kendrick’s Cave individual might have come to Britain from somewhere near the East almost 14,000 years ago.
The researchers also conducted a chemical analysis of teeth and other bones, and they found out that the individuals living near Kendrick’s Cave used to eat freshwater and marine foods.
