Ancient genomes show social and reproductive behavior of early Upper Paleolithic foragers

2017/10/06 by Martin Sikora, Andaine Seguin‐Orlando, Vítor C. Sousa +24 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Forensic and Genetic Research #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Upper Paleolithic #Genome #Evolutionary biology #Biology #Zoology #Geography #Archaeology #Genetics #Gene

paper · doi:10.1126/science.aao1807

openalex publication_date 2017/10/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

Present-day hunter-gatherers (HGs) live in multilevel social groups essential to sustain a population structure characterized by limited levels of within-band relatedness and inbreeding. When these wider social networks evolved among HGs is unknown. To investigate whether the contemporary HG strategy was already present in the Upper Paleolithic, we used complete genome sequences from Sunghir, a site dated to ~34,000 years before the present, containing multiple anatomically modern human individuals. We show that individuals at Sunghir derive from a population of small effective size, with limited kinship and levels of inbreeding similar to HG populations. Our findings suggest that Upper Paleolithic social organization was similar to that of living HGs, with limited relatedness within residential groups embedded in a larger mating network.

Citations

• An early modern human from Romania with a recent Neanderthal ancestor
• The Gravettian burial known as the Prince (“Il Principe”): new evidence for his age and diet
• Population genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia
• Genome sequence of a 45,000-year-old modern human from western Siberia
• Genomic structure in Europeans dating back at least 36,200 years
• Co-Residence Patterns in Hunter-Gatherer Societies Show Unique Human Social Structure
• The complete genome sequence of a Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains
• Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of a Middle Pleistocene cave bear reconstructed from ultrashort DNA fragments
• Massive migration from the steppe is a source for Indo-European languages in Europe
• Upper Palaeolithic Siberian genome reveals dual ancestry of Native Americans
• Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for present-day Europeans
• Estimates of Upper Palaeolithic meta-population size in Europe from archaeological data
• Genomic Diversity and Admixture Differs for Stone-Age Scandinavian Foragers and Farmers
• An Aboriginal Australian Genome Reveals Separate Human Dispersals into Asia
• Genome flux and stasis in a five millennium transect of European prehistory
• An integrated map of genetic variation from 1,092 human genomes
• A global reference for human genetic variation
• The earliest evidence for anatomically modern humans in northwestern Europe
• Integrating common and rare genetic variation in diverse human populations
• A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome
• Inferring the Joint Demographic History of Multiple Populations from Multidimensional SNP Frequency Data
• The Y-Chromosome Tree Bursts into Leaf: 13,000 High-Confidence SNPs Covering the Majority of Known Clades
• IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP
• Neandertals and moderns mixed, and it matters
• Patterns of damage in genomic DNA sequences from a Neandertal
• PLINK: A Tool Set for Whole-Genome Association and Population-Based Linkage Analyses
• A Common Genetic Origin for Early Farmers from Mediterranean Cardial and Central European LBK Cultures
• Bayesian Analysis of Radiocarbon Dates
• Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians
• Genome-wide patterns of selection in 230 ancient Eurasians
• Pleistocene Mitochondrial Genomes Suggest a Single Major Dispersal of Non-Africans and a Late Glacial Population Turnover in Europe
• The genetic history of Ice Age Europe
• Early farmers from across Europe directly descended from Neolithic Aegeans
• Early Neolithic genomes from the eastern Fertile Crescent
• Genomic analysis of Andamanese provides insights into ancient human migration into Asia and adaptation
• Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East
• A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia
• IntCal09 and Marine09 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves, 0–50,000 Years cal BP
• Discussion Reporting of 14C Data

Cited by

• Bosniaks [wikipedia]