DNA Shows Ancient Humans Related to Asians and Native Americans

DNA Shows Ancient Humans Related to Asians and Native Americans

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Researchers have been able to trace a line between some of the earliest modern humans to settle in China and people living in the region today. The evidence comes from DNA extracted from a 40,000-year-old leg bone found in a cave near Beijing. Results show that the person it belonged to was related to the ancestors of present-day Asians and Native Americans. The results are published in the journal PNAS.

Humans who looked broadly like present-day people started to appear in the fossil record of Eurasia between 40,000 and 50,000 years ago. But many questions remain about the genetic relationships between these early modern humans and present-day Homo sapiens populations.