Mysterious 'Ghost Tribe' discovered as scientists recover Stone Age DNA

Ancient graves in Cameroon, west Africa, contain DNA samples that have revealed intriguing details about the earliest Africans. But it's 'more complicated' than researchers expected



The new study has analysed the DNA from the burials of four children, who lived as the Stone Age transitioned into the Metal Age, to reveal the previously unknown "ghost" population that contributed genetically to the people who live in Africa today (Image: Pierre de Maret)

Archaeologists researching the ancient Shum Laka rock shelter in north west Cameroon have identified DNA traces from a lost ‘Ghost Tribe,’ shedding new light on the earliest inhabitants of Africa.

But the find raises as many questions as it does answers.

Speaking to National Geographic magazine about the the analysis of the first complete ancient genomes from West Africa, Mary Prendergast, an anthropologist at Saint Louis University in Madrid, said: “It’s always more complicated than once thought.

“You can go in with one set of questions and come out with a very different set of answers that raises a whole new set of questions.”

More:
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/mysterious-ghost-tribe-discovered-scientists-21349925