Remains of ancient shaman suggest early humans undertook ‘vast’ migrations, study says
The genetic makeup of a newfound hunter-gatherer population indicates early humans migrated over vast distances, including back and forth between Asia and North America.
The migration patterns were uncovered by analyzing the remains of 10 prehistoric individuals found near Siberia, Russia, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology on Jan. 12.
The remains date as far back as 7,500 years ago and include the skeleton of a 6,500-year-old shaman found in a cave with religious attire.
DNA research revealed the remains of the individuals, with the exception of the shaman, belonged to a previously unknown early human population known as the Altai, a mixture of two groups that occupied Siberia during the Ice Age, the study explained.
The Altai, a hunter-gatherer community, were found to be genetically linked to many successive populations across Siberia, Central Asia and East Asia, indicating a high degree of mobility amongst these Neolithic humans, the study said.
In addition to fanning out across the Asian continent, relatives of the Altai journeyed thousands of miles to the Bering Land Bridge, where some crossed over into North America. Several phases of “Native American-related gene flow” occurred in both directions, according to the study.
As a result of this considerable movement, current Native American populations share an “extra genetic affinity” with the Altai population.
“Such connection across long geographic distances is remarkable,” Cosimo Posth, professor of paleogenetics and co-author of the study, wrote in a news release from the University of Tübingen in Germany. “This suggests that human migrations and admixtures were the norm and not the exception also for ancient hunter-gatherer societies.”
Additionally, the remains of the shaman, which include a complete skull, contain an entirely distinct genetic profile despite being discovered near the Altai remains. In fact, his remains were found more than 900 miles to the west of the population he was genetically tied to, further suggesting a high degree of mobility amongst Neolithic populations, according to the study.
“This shows that people with very different genetic profiles were living in the area,” Ke Wang, a co-author of the study who works at Fudan University in China, stated in the release. The shaman’s “grave goods appear different from other archaeological sites, implying movements of both culturally and genetically diverse individuals into the Altai region.”
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