Ancient DNA

Horseback riding. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The mutation that changed history: How horses became rideable

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New research reveals that two genetic mutations were key to the domestication of the horse in the Bronze Age – making it calmer and more resistant to carrying riders, and changing the face of transportation and warfare in the ancient world
A giant sloth at the entrance to a cave it dug. Illustration: Avi Blizovsky, via DALEE

They were three-and-a-half-ton sloths with claws and armor – and then humans arrived

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New research reveals how ancient giant sloths dug caves, thrived in the oceans and moved between diverse environments – until climate change and the arrival of humans led to their extinction
Ruins of the Palenque temple created by the Mayan culture in Mexico. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Ancient DNA reveals secrets of the rise and fall of the Classic Maya

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Researchers from Trinity University in Ireland have succeeded in reconstructing the genome of the Mayans from Copan, Honduras, and have discovered surprising genetic connections with central Mexico — a finding that indicates migration processes, cultural influences, and demographic changes during the Mesoamerica period.
"Floating drilling platform for extracting lake sediment cores, Alaska." Credit: Alfred-Wegener-Institut / Weihan Jia

Global warming and mass extinctions: What can we learn from plants from the last ice age?

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Innovative methods of analyzing ancient DNA reveal how warming affected plant species during the transition from the Ice Age – a clue to what may happen in the future
Born in Papua, in the province of Papua in Indonesia. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Early humans interbred with three different extinct species of Denisovans

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Genes from extinct human species allow the Tibetans to live in a low-oxygen environment, the Papuans got a good immune system and the Inuit (formerly called Eskimos) cope thanks to these genes with the arctic cold
Woolly rhinos were once common throughout northern and central Eurasia, before becoming extinct about 10,000 years ago. Credit: Mauricio Anton 

Solving an ancient mystery: paleontologists shed new light on the causes of the extinction of the woolly rhinoceros

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Advanced computer models estimate that continued hunting by humans contributed to the extinction of the woolly rhinoceros by preventing their migration to new habitats during post-Ice Age warming, highlighting the ongoing impact
Canaanites and the Shesu leader who were allegedly captured by the ancient Egyptian army, from the collection of mosaics of Ramses III from the state of Habu, compiled by Niv Logsi. From Wikipedia

First genetic study of its kind: the Canaanites constantly mixed with populations that came from Iran and the Caucasus

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A skeleton of a Canaanite about 3,700 years old from Sidon. From the scientific article

Scientists were able to reconstruct and sequence an ancient genome with the help of DNA collected from five different Canaanites who lived in today's Lebanon about 4,000 years ago

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