How is the article analysis of 1 million base pairs Of neanderthal DNA related to cultural anthropology
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Comparisons of Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA with that of modern humans indicate that they are not related to modern humans and did not contribute to our mitochondrial heritage. However, because Neanderthals and modern humans are separated by at least 25,000 years, this does not rule out some forms of interbreeding causing the modern European gene pool to be derived from both Neanderthals and early humans (called Cro-Magnons). To resolve this question, Caramelli et al. analyzed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 25,000-year-old Cro-Magnon remains and compared them to four Neanderthal specimens and a large dataset derived from modern humans. The results are shown in the graph. The $x$-axis represents the age of the specimens in thousands of years; the $y$-axis represents the average genetic distance. Modern humans are indicated by filled squares; Cro-Magnons, open squares; and Neanderthals, diamonds. (a) What can you conclude about the relationship between CroMagnons and modern Europeans? What about the relationship between Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals? (b) From these data, does it seem likely that Neanderthals made any mitochondrial DNA contributions to the Cro-Magnon gene pool or the modern European pool?
Sri K.
How have DNA analyses changed how scientists study the evolutionary history of humans?
Sequencing of the the human genome has revealed a startling fact that most of us contain small but identifiable amounts of DNA that came from Neanderthals. It is now quite clear that early human populations interacted with - and interbred with - Neanderthals. As a result, many modern human populations around the globe carry a small percentage (0 to 5%) Neanderthal DNA in their genomes. This fact became clear when Neanderthal genomes were sequenced and the person primarily responsible for that was Dr. Svante Pääbo, a Swedish geneticist now directing the Laboratory of Human Evolution in the Max Plank Institute in Germany. "A Neanderthal Perspective on Human Origins with Dr. Svante Pääbo - 2018."
Josee P.
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