Scientists of the Institute of archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS, commented on the results of recent studies of the genome of Neanderthals, they discovered in Jagerskog cave in the Altai region. The genome project allowed us to learn that "zagurska" the Neanderthals came to the Altai 80 thousand years ago from Europe and in the DNA of modern humans have fragments of their genome.
As reported in the Institute of archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS, results of decoding of the genome of Neanderthals, who lived in Jagerskog the cave, was published in the American scientific journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). In these studies involved scientists from different countries under the leadership of Fabrizio Mafessoni genetics from the Institute of evolutionary anthropology of max Planck (Leipzig). As part of the international research team worked and the Institute of archaeology and Ethnography, conducted the excavations in the cave Jagerskog.
According to a leading researcher of the Institute of archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS, Professor Ksenia Kolobovo just Jagerskog the cave was discovered 76 bone fragments of Neanderthals that became the largest collection of Neanderthal artifacts in North Asia. "similarities "Zagursky" Neanderthals from Europe and the middle East pointed out the characteristic morphology of teeth and bones. And now genetic studies have confirmed our data that the "zagurska" Neanderthals came from Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus and brought with them mikocka tradition of making stone tools. Closest to him were the Neanderthals from Mezmaiskaya cave in the Caucasus, which also discovered and mycoskie stone tools," she said.
The researchers also found that "Zagursky" Neanderthals are genetically closer to European populations than to the Neanderthals, discovered by archaeologists in the Denisova cave in the Altai mountains just a hundred kilometers from Tagarskoe of the cave.
"Zagursky" Neanderthal became the fourth in the world whose genome has been completely decoded. Were previously sequenced the genomes of Neanderthals from the cave Vindija (Croatia) and from Denisova cave as well as the genome of the so-called "Denisova" – a separate branch of Neanderthal, discovered in Denisova cave in the Altai. A complete study of the genome "jagerskog" representative of the ancestors of Homo sapiens allowed us to conduct a comparative analysis with other already studied genotypes of the Neanderthals.
Specialists of the Institute of archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS noted that three of the four fully decoded the genome of ancient people was obtained from the analysis of bone fragments discovered in Altai caves. Therefore, they considered the Altai to the cradle of human evolution.
