Rethinking human evolution through technology
“Ours, it turns out, is a repeated history of migrations and mixing,” says Cosimo Posth, a junior professor of archaeo- and palaeogenetics at the University of Tübingen in Germany. “Much of what we thought we knew about human history – that populations lived for centuries mostly without mixing – was overturned thanks to modern-day genomics.” In March 2023, Posth and his colleagues analysed the largest ever ancient genetic data set (356 – including 116 from new-found remains in 14 countries) of prehistoric hunter-gatherers, from which they derived new insights about the groups’ migration and survival. A mere decade or so earlier and their work wouldn’t have been possible. Breakthroughs in collecting and deciphering ancient human DNA during this time have rapidly accelerated discoveries about…
