Unknown lineage of ice age Europeans discovered in genetic study

By Charles Q. Choi published 4 days ago

The largest study yet to look at the genetics of ice age hunter-gatherers in Europe has uncovered a previously unknown lineage dubbed the Fournol.



A previously unknown lineage of Europeans survived the coldest parts of the last ice age, only to vanish when Europe went through a warm spell starting about 15,000 years ago.

The discovery comes from the largest study yet to look at the genetic makeup of ice age European hunter-gatherers.

For most of the past 100,000 years, glaciers covered much of Europe. Starting about 45,000 years ago, hunter gatherers began arriving in Europe from Africa through the near East, toughing it out during the Last Glacial Maximum (roughly 25,000 to 19,000 years ago), the coldest part of the last ice age.

Archaeologists know about the first modern humans in Europe from the artifacts they left behind. However, few human fossils remain from those early cultures, so little is known about how these ancient people migrated and were related to one another.

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https://www.livescience.com/unknown-lineage-of-ice-age-europeans-discovered-in-genetic-study