Ice Age Europeans Weren't Genetically Homogenous

New research reveals that the hunter-gatherer people who dominated Europe 30,000 years ago sought refuge from the last Ice Age in warmer places, but only those who sheltered in what is now Spain and Portugal appear to have survived, Frank Jordans reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Genetic analysis of individuals from Italy after the last Ice Age shows the dark-skinned, dark-eyed Gravettian population was replaced by newcomers from the Balkans, who brought blue eyes and a touch of Near Eastern ancestry with them.

Using new genetic analysis of prehistoric human remains, scientists were able to trace the fate of the Gravettian culture, a term used to describe the people who once roamed Europe and produced distinctive tools and art such as the voluptuous ‘Venus’ figurines found at ancient sites across the continent.

The study noted the Gravettians were not genetically homogenous and were comprised of two distinct peoples, as reported by Science magazine.

The study, published in the journal Nature, highlights the impact that climate change and migration had on the early inhabitants of Europe.

It suggests that those who lived in what is now Italy when the ice expanded southward some 25,000 years ago appeared to have found themselves at a dead end compared to their cousins who lived in the region that now covers parts of southern France, Spain, and Portugal.

Those who went west survived the worst of the Ice Age, known to scientists as the last glacial maximum (LGM), said Cosimo Posth, a researcher at the University of Tuebingen who led the study.

“To our big surprise, in Italy the population that was present before the last glacial maximum completely disappears,” said Posth. “They didn’t make it.”

Genetic analysis of individuals from Italy after the last Ice Age shows the dark-skinned, dark-eyed Gravettian population was replaced by newcomers from the Balkans, who brought blue eyes and a touch of Near Eastern ancestry with them.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic