john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

Connecting with your Bronze Age ancestors

Sun, 2008-08-24 22:20 -- John Hawks

The BBC has a story about Y chromosome matches between German Bronze Age skeletons and a couple of guys living in the same area now:

"I didn't expect it at all, to end up being the direct descendant of the cavemen. It's amazing, especially as on that particular day I had such a dry mouth, I thought the DNA sample wouldn't work," he said.

Looks like the Y chromosome equivalent of the Cheddar Man mtDNA match from 10 years ago. The import of both stories is roughly the same -- considerable local genetic survival from prehistoric times.

Tags: 
Bronze Age
Y chromosome

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