Compound-specific radiocarbon dating and mitochondrial DNA analysis of the Pleistocene hominin from Salkhit Mongolia.
Nat Commun
; 10(1): 274, 2019 01 30.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30700710
ABSTRACT
A skullcap found in the Salkhit Valley in northeast Mongolia is, to our knowledge, the only Pleistocene hominin fossil found in the country. It was initially described as an individual with possible archaic affinities, but its ancestry has been debated since the discovery. Here, we determine the age of the Salkhit skull by compound-specific radiocarbon dating of hydroxyproline to 34,950-33,900 Cal. BP (at 95% probability), placing the Salkhit individual in the Early Upper Paleolithic period. We reconstruct the complete mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of the specimen. It falls within a group of modern human mtDNAs (haplogroup N) that is widespread in Eurasia today. The results now place the specimen into its proper chronometric and biological context and allow us to begin integrating it with other evidence for the human occupation of this region during the Paleolithic, as well as wider Pleistocene sequences across Eurasia.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Skull
/
DNA, Mitochondrial
/
Carbon Radioisotopes
/
Hominidae
/
Fossils
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Nat Commun
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA
/
CIENCIA
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Reino Unido