Nature study finds father-daughter pair among 13 Siberian Neanderthals
A study published in Nature analyzed genomic data from 13 Neanderthals recovered from two Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia: 11 from Chagyrskaya Cave and two from Okladnikov Cave. Researchers used hybridization capture to obtain nuclear, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosome sequences from the remains. Among the Chagyrskaya individuals, they identified a father-daughter pair and a pair of second-degree relatives, showing that some of them lived at the same time. Up to one-third of the individuals' genomes carried long stretches of homozygosity, a sign the community was small. Y-chromosome diversity came in an order of magnitude lower than mitochondrial diversity, a pattern the authors say is best explained by female migration between communities.
The data give a detailed look at how an isolated Neanderthal community, at the eastern edge of the species' known range, was organized, including evidence for female movement between groups.
Source: Genetic insights into the social organization of Neanderthals - Nature (doi.org).
Written by the Genomes desk from the primary source linked above and checked against it. Research use only; not medical advice. Corrections: [email protected].