We have just discovered that 20% of our DNA comes from an unknown hominid population: population b

We have just discovered that 20% of our DNA comes from an unknown hominid population: population b


This lineage separated from the main trunk that would give rise to Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal about 1.5 million years ago.




Human evolution recalls the branched structure of trees more than the linear image that we often use to illustrate it, the one in which our ancestors increase and gradually handle the tools.

However, bifurcations in the branches of these trees do not illustrate all evolutionary changes. This is because sometimes the species not only separated, but they also meet again.

A recent identified genetic study Traces in the human DNA of an old population who moved away from our main lineage about 1.5 million years ago, only to converge again with her later. The study estimated that the genetic inheritance of this second population (or population b) represents about 20% of our current DNA.

To find out more: We have been knowing for some time that we bring Neanderthal’s DNA. Now we are realizing its implications

A new piece in the puzzle of human evolution

The study team also raises the hypothesis that this inheritance may have been beneficial for our species. According to research, these genes would have contributed to improving our cognitive skills.

“The question of where we came is something that fascinated humans for centuries,” explained Trevor Cousins, co -author of the study, In a press release. “For a long time, it was hypothesized that we evolved from a continuous ancestral lineage, but the exact details of our origins are still uncertain.”

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Source: Terra

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