You may not have heard of the Department of Geogenetics at the University of Copenhagen. You were either busy with something else or simply not paying attention. But you should write down the name of that department somewhere, because the guys and gals there are determined to change the game when it comes to paleogenetics and the study of human evolution.

And they didn’t just intend to do it, they actually do it, involving the “heavies” from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, those led by the Nobel laureate Svante Pääbo, who have been the initiators of the above-mentioned field until now. Then the Danes leave behind not only them, but also specialists from the research centers of Harvard, Barcelona and others, who have been in the headlines until now. Let’s explain.

Department of Geogenetics, University of Copenhagen

The department in question was founded in 2009. His aim was, among other things, to focus on the identification, recovery and study of extremely ancient DNA. In 2016, a team of palaeogeneticists from the Universities of York and Sheffield showed that this was possible after they managed to obtain DNA sequences from an ostrich eggshell from 3.8 million years ago. This is currently the oldest DNA ever recovered.

In 2016, already renowned paleogeneticists from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig announced that they had succeeded in recovering the oldest human DNA from people around 430,000 years old, all of whom came from the site of Cima de los Huesos in Spain. And this discovery had serious consequences. why Because by that time prehistorians were talking about a so-called transitional species (aren’t they all “transitional”?) called Homo heidelbergensis. The ancestor of the Neanderthal and possibly even Homo sapiens, but that is through its African twin, Homo rhodesiensis.

DNA fragments recovered then showed that, at least from this point of view, the picture of evolution is somewhat simpler. I mean, Homo heidelbergensis never existed. It was just the wrong location. The DNA was Neanderthal. So to speak, the fossils there were Neanderthals at an early stage of their transformation into later, more developed forms. Basca, the mitochondrial DNA that is transmitted exclusively through the maternal line, was Denisovan.

For those who don’t know, Denisovans are a mysterious species closely related to Homo sapiens and Neanderthals who lived somewhere in South and Southeast Asia. And from these Denisovans we have only genetic data, as well as two or three tiny fossils (teeth or phalanges). In short, we could be talking about individuals at a hypothetical key point in the diversification of two species, Neanderthal and Denisovan. Finally.

This is where the Danish department I mentioned comes into play. Also in 2016, although this news went almost unnoticed, paleogeneticists there, led in particular by a specialist named Enrico Cappellini, managed to obtain human DNA from a much older species, also discovered in Spain, Homo antecessor. Age? About 800,000 years. Also at that time, the Danes announced that they had sequenced DNA fragments from the genome of a 1.8-million-year-old African individual of the Homo erectus species. Oho!!! Ten or two years ago it was not even believed that such a thing was possible!

However, the Danes showed that they can go further. And last year they announced that they had recovered the DNA of several species of plants and animals in Greenland’s permafrost, which is about 2 million years old, revealing for the first time a clear picture of what was there when mastodons roamed free, unaware they existed. genus Homo.

Long live the revolution!

Just one year after recovering DNA sequences from the permafrost of Greenland, geneticists in Copenhagen released brand new research (last night), announcing that they had successfully identified hominid DNA from a 2.42-million-year-old ancient hominid species discovered in the south. Africa. And not from one individual, but from four. Four DNA samples from as many people!!!

To give you an idea of ​​what this means, we will say that, with the exception of one of them (1.8 million year old Homo erectus DNA), this is the oldest sample of hominid DNA found in African fossils. he was no more than 18,000 years old. In principle, the African environment would require exceptional conditions for DNA to be preserved in such ancient fossils. And the Danes seem to have found them.

We are talking about four individuals, represented here only by teeth, of the species Paranthropus robustus. What is Paranthopus robustus? According to the paleoanthropological studies carried out so far, representatives of the species Paranthropus are considered to be a slightly more developed form of Australopithecines. Individuals with a much stronger dentition than their Australopithecine ancestors (hence the name), the dentition indicates a diet based mainly on nuts, fruits and thick leaves.

This species was successful, considering the length of its existence. More precisely, from about 2.4 million years ago to about 1 million years ago. Consider that the Neanderthals, for example, are much more advanced, did not survive more than 400,000-450,000 years! And representatives of the Paranthropus robustus species were contemporaries of a much more developed upright man for almost a million years. On the same continent and in the same environment. He is not from there! But let’s see what they say the Danes discovered in their research!

Gender and genetic variability

First of all, they say, they managed to confirm what was already emphasized through morphological studies of the corresponding fossils. In particular, Paranthropus robustus represents a group different from ours, namely the genus Homo. Also, the fact that they are much closer to the genus Homo than to other primate species. So to speak, an evolutionary form separated from the genus Homo, but closely related to it.

Then the Danish paleogeneticists were able to determine not only the sex of the individuals from which the fossilized teeth came (two male and two female), but also, very interestingly, the fact that one of the individuals was genetically different from the other three. This could mean either a representative of another species of Paranthropus, or wide genetic variability within the same species.

In conclusion, given the extremely limited data at their disposal at the moment, the Danish experts are reticent about the place of individuals of the Paranhropus species in the overall picture of human evolution. But the very fact that they were able to identify such ancient hominid DNA, to obtain data on samples never dreamed of, is still a major research milestone any way you look at it.

In general, as I said, write down the name of that department somewhere! We have a suspicion that the surprises are just around the corner, and secrets from our past, some of which seemed lost forever, will soon begin to surface.

And one more thing. It is a little surprising that the study by the Danish specialists has not yet been published in a major specialized journal, despite the fact that it is a revolution (no pun intended) in the field.

Hence, there must be a small dose of reluctance. However, Nature magazine intercepted the information in the form of a press release, which seems to confirm the authenticity and seriousness of the discovery. And the fact that the surprise is huge may also explain the time it took other specialists to confirm the Scandinavians’ success.

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