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VOL.463 NO.7282 DATED 11 FEBRUARY 2010
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Genomics: An ancient hairy tale (pp 757-762; N&V)
The first genome sequence of an ancient human is reported in Nature this week. As well as demonstrating a substantial advance in DNA sequencing techniques, the work also highlights a previously unknown migration of humans around 5,500 years ago.
Eske Willerslev and colleagues analysed hairs from a male in Greenland which had been preserved in permafrost for around 4,000 years. Using SNP analysis, they were able to propose certain characteristics of this individual – known as ‘Inuk’ – such as his skin colour and hair thickness. There are currently very few details known about these particular humans due to the fact that little remains from their culture; however, this work suggests that genomic data can now be used to identify physical traits of individuals from extinct cultures, even when there are only small amounts of material, such as bones, left.
The authors caution that this individual may or may not be representative of the extinct culture that inhabited Greenland around 4,000 years ago. But, they do conclude that this work provides evidence of a migration of ancient humans from Siberia into the New World — movement that was independent of other migrations that gave rise to the modern Native American and Inuit communities.
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