ALBERT

Description: We present the high-quality genome sequence of a approximately 45,000-year-old modern human male from Siberia. This individual derives from a population that lived before-or simultaneously with-the separation of the populations in western and eastern Eurasia and carries a similar amount of Neanderthal ancestry as present-day Eurasians. However, the genomic segments of Neanderthal ancestry are substantially longer than those observed in present-day individuals, indicating that Neanderthal gene flow into the ancestors of this individual occurred 7,000-13,000 years before he lived. We estimate an autosomal mutation rate of 0.4 x 10(-9) to 0.6 x 10(-9) per site per year, a Y chromosomal mutation rate of 0.7 x 10(-9) to 0.9 x 10(-9) per site per year based on the additional substitutions that have occurred in present-day non-Africans compared to this genome, and a mitochondrial mutation rate of 1.8 x 10(-8) to 3.2 x 10(-8) per site per year based on the age of the bone.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4753769/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4753769/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Fu, Qiaomei -- Li, Heng -- Moorjani, Priya -- Jay, Flora -- Slepchenko, Sergey M -- Bondarev, Aleksei A -- Johnson, Philip L F -- Aximu-Petri, Ayinuer -- Prufer, Kay -- de Filippo, Cesare -- Meyer, Matthias -- Zwyns, Nicolas -- Salazar-Garcia, Domingo C -- Kuzmin, Yaroslav V -- Keates, Susan G -- Kosintsev, Pavel A -- Razhev, Dmitry I -- Richards, Michael P -- Peristov, Nikolai V -- Lachmann, Michael -- Douka, Katerina -- Higham, Thomas F G -- Slatkin, Montgomery -- Hublin, Jean-Jacques -- Reich, David -- Kelso, Janet -- Viola, T Bence -- Paabo, Svante -- F32 GM115006/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM100233/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- K99 GM104158/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- K99-GM104158/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM100233/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01-GM40282/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- England -- Nature. 2014 Oct 23;514(7523):445-9. doi: 10.1038/nature13810.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, IVPP, CAS, Beijing 100044, China [2] Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. ; 1] Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA [2] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. ; 1] Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA [2] Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA. ; Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3140, USA. ; Institute for Problems of the Development of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tyumen 625026, Russia. ; Expert Criminalistics Center, Omsk Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Omsk 644007, Russia. ; Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. ; Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. ; 1] Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany [2] Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. ; 1] Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany [2] Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, South Africa [3] Departament de Prehistoria i Arqueologia, Universitat de Valencia, Valencia 46010, Spain [4] Research Group on Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. ; Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia. ; Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg 620144, Russia. ; 1] Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany [2] Laboratory of Archaeology, Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada. ; Siberian Cultural Center, Omsk 644010, Russia. ; 1] Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany [2] Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA. ; Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK. ; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. ; 1] Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA [2] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [3] Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. ; 1] Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany [2] Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25341783" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The appearance of anatomically modern humans in Europe and the nature of the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic are matters of intense debate. Most researchers accept that before the arrival of anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals had adopted several 'transitional' technocomplexes. Two of these, the Uluzzian of southern Europe and the Chatelperronian of western Europe, are key to current interpretations regarding the timing of arrival of anatomically modern humans in the region and their potential interaction with Neanderthal populations. They are also central to current debates regarding the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals and the reasons behind their extinction. However, the actual fossil evidence associated with these assemblages is scant and fragmentary, and recent work has questioned the attribution of the Chatelperronian to Neanderthals on the basis of taphonomic mixing and lithic analysis. Here we reanalyse the deciduous molars from the Grotta del Cavallo (southern Italy), associated with the Uluzzian and originally classified as Neanderthal. Using two independent morphometric methods based on microtomographic data, we show that the Cavallo specimens can be attributed to anatomically modern humans. The secure context of the teeth provides crucial evidence that the makers of the Uluzzian technocomplex were therefore not Neanderthals. In addition, new chronometric data for the Uluzzian layers of Grotta del Cavallo obtained from associated shell beads and included within a Bayesian age model show that the teeth must date to ~45,000-43,000 calendar years before present. The Cavallo human remains are therefore the oldest known European anatomically modern humans, confirming a rapid dispersal of modern humans across the continent before the Aurignacian and the disappearance of Neanderthals.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Benazzi, Stefano -- Douka, Katerina -- Fornai, Cinzia -- Bauer, Catherine C -- Kullmer, Ottmar -- Svoboda, Jiri -- Pap, Ildiko -- Mallegni, Francesco -- Bayle, Priscilla -- Coquerelle, Michael -- Condemi, Silvana -- Ronchitelli, Annamaria -- Harvati, Katerina -- Weber, Gerhard W -- England -- Nature. 2011 Nov 2;479(7374):525-8. doi: 10.1038/nature10617.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria. stefano.benazzi@univie.ac.at〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22048311" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The timing of Neanderthal disappearance and the extent to which they overlapped with the earliest incoming anatomically modern humans (AMHs) in Eurasia are key questions in palaeoanthropology. Determining the spatiotemporal relationship between the two populations is crucial if we are to understand the processes, timing and reasons leading to the disappearance of Neanderthals and the likelihood of cultural and genetic exchange. Serious technical challenges, however, have hindered reliable dating of the period, as the radiocarbon method reaches its limit at approximately 50,000 years ago. Here we apply improved accelerator mass spectrometry (14)C techniques to construct robust chronologies from 40 key Mousterian and Neanderthal archaeological sites, ranging from Russia to Spain. Bayesian age modelling was used to generate probability distribution functions to determine the latest appearance date. We show that the Mousterian ended by 41,030-39,260 calibrated years bp (at 95.4% probability) across Europe. We also demonstrate that succeeding 'transitional' archaeological industries, one of which has been linked with Neanderthals (Chatelperronian), end at a similar time. Our data indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals occurred at different times in different regions. Comparing the data with results obtained from the earliest dated AMH sites in Europe, associated with the Uluzzian technocomplex, allows us to quantify the temporal overlap between the two human groups. The results reveal a significant overlap of 2,600-5,400 years (at 95.4% probability). This has important implications for models seeking to explain the cultural, technological and biological elements involved in the replacement of Neanderthals by AMHs. A mosaic of populations in Europe during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition suggests that there was ample time for the transmission of cultural and symbolic behaviours, as well as possible genetic exchanges, between the two groups.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Higham, Tom -- Douka, Katerina -- Wood, Rachel -- Ramsey, Christopher Bronk -- Brock, Fiona -- Basell, Laura -- Camps, Marta -- Arrizabalaga, Alvaro -- Baena, Javier -- Barroso-Ruiz, Cecillio -- Bergman, Christopher -- Boitard, Coralie -- Boscato, Paolo -- Caparros, Miguel -- Conard, Nicholas J -- Draily, Christelle -- Froment, Alain -- Galvan, Bertila -- Gambassini, Paolo -- Garcia-Moreno, Alejandro -- Grimaldi, Stefano -- Haesaerts, Paul -- Holt, Brigitte -- Iriarte-Chiapusso, Maria-Jose -- Jelinek, Arthur -- Jorda Pardo, Jesus F -- Maillo-Fernandez, Jose-Manuel -- Marom, Anat -- Maroto, Julia -- Menendez, Mario -- Metz, Laure -- Morin, Eugene -- Moroni, Adriana -- Negrino, Fabio -- Panagopoulou, Eleni -- Peresani, Marco -- Pirson, Stephane -- de la Rasilla, Marco -- Riel-Salvatore, Julien -- Ronchitelli, Annamaria -- Santamaria, David -- Semal, Patrick -- Slimak, Ludovic -- Soler, Joaquim -- Soler, Narcis -- Villaluenga, Aritza -- Pinhasi, Ron -- Jacobi, Roger -- England -- Nature. 2014 Aug 21;512(7514):306-9. doi: 10.1038/nature13621.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology &the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK. ; 1] Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology &the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK [2] Research School for Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia. ; School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology (GAP), Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK. ; School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, College Park, 4102 Jimenez Hall, University of Maryland, Maryland 20742-4821, USA. ; Research Team on Prehistory (IT-622-13), IKERBASQUE, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), Tomas y Valiente Street, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. ; Departimento Prehistoria y Arqueologia, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain. ; Fundacion Instituto de Investigacion de Prehistoria y Evolucion Humana, Plaza del Coso 1, 14900 Lucena, Cordoba, Spain. ; URS, 525 Vine Street, Suite 1800, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, USA. ; 8 rue des Sapins, 67100 Strasbourg, France. ; Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Universita degli Studi di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100 Siena, Italy. ; Departement de Prehistoire, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 75013 Paris, France. ; 1] Abt. Altere Urgeschichte und Quartarokologie, Universitat Tubingen, Schloss Hohentubingen, 72070 Tubingen, Germany [2] Tubingen Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoecology, Schloss Hohentubingen, 72070 Tubingen, Germany. ; Service public de Wallonie, DGO4, Service de l'Archeologie, rue des Martyrs, 22, B-6700 Arlon, Belgium. ; Laboratoire d'Eco-antropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musee de l'Homme, 17 place du Trocadero, 75116 Paris, France. ; Departamento de Prehistoria, Arqueologia, Antropologia e Historia Antigua, Universidad de La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, 38071 Tenerife, Spain. ; 1] Monrepos Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Schloss Monrepos, D-56567 Neuwied, Germany [2] The Cantabria International Institute for Prehistoric Research (IIIPC), University of Cantabria, Avda. Los Castros, s/n. 39005 Santander, Spain. ; Laboratorio di Preistoria 'B. Bagolini', Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Universita degli Studi di Trento, via Tommaso Gar, 14 I-38122 Trento, Italy. ; Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium. ; Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, 103 Machmer Hall, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA. ; School of Anthropology, Emil W. Haury Building, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0030, USA. ; Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueologia, UNED. Paseo Senda del Rey 7, 20840, Madrid, Spain. ; 1] Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology &the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK [2] The Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ; rea de Prehistoria, Universitat de Girona, pl. Ferrater Mora 1, 17071 Girona, Spain. ; CNRS, UMR 5608, TRACES, Toulouse Jean Jaures University, Maison de la Recherche, 5 Allees Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse, Cedex 9, France. ; Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Life and Health Sciences Building Block C, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada. ; Dipartimento di Antichita, Filosofia e Storia, Universita di Genova, Via Balbi 2, Genova I-16126, Italy. ; Ephoreia of Paleoanthropology of Southern Greece, Ardittou 34B, Athens 11636, Greece. ; Universita di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Corso Ercole I d'Este 32, I-44100 Ferrara, Italy. ; Service public de Wallonie, DGO4, Direction de l'Archeologie, rue des Brigades d'Irlande, 1, B-5100 Jambes, Belgium. ; Departamento de Historia, Universidad de Oviedo, c/Teniente Alfonso Martinez, s/n, 33011 Oviedo, Spain. ; Departement d'Anthropologie, Universite de Montreal, C. P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1N8, Canada. ; Service of Scientific Heritage, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000 Brussels, Belgium. ; Monrepos Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Schloss Monrepos, D-56567 Neuwied, Germany. ; UCD Earth Institute and School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. ; 1] Department of Prehistory and Europe, Franks House, The British Museum, London N1 5QJ, UK [2] The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK [3].〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25143113" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Bosch et al. (1) report on a series of radiocarbon dates from the site of Ksar Akil, which they model and interpret within a Bayesian statistical approach. They highlight as most significant aspects of this work the indirect dating of “Ethelruda” (〉45,900 cal B.P.), the purportedly modern human maxilla found...

Description: The Austronesian settlement of the remote island of Madagascar remains one of the great puzzles of Indo-Pacific prehistory. Although linguistic, ethnographic, and genetic evidence points clearly to a colonization of Madagascar by Austronesian language-speaking people from Island Southeast Asia, decades of archaeological research have failed to locate evidence for a...

Description: The traditional "out of Africa" model, which posits a dispersal of modern Homo sapiens across Eurasia as a single wave at ~60,000 years ago and the subsequent replacement of all indigenous populations, is in need of revision. Recent discoveries from archaeology, hominin paleontology, geochronology, genetics, and paleoenvironmental studies have contributed to a better understanding of the Late Pleistocene record in Asia. Important findings highlighted here include growing evidence for multiple dispersals predating 60,000 years ago in regions such as southern and eastern Asia. Modern humans moving into Asia met Neandertals, Denisovans, mid-Pleistocene Homo , and possibly H. floresiensis , with some degree of interbreeding occurring. These early human dispersals, which left at least some genetic traces in modern populations, indicate that later replacements were not wholesale.