About 45,000 years ago, something unusual happened in the Ice Age in Europe. A new wave of contemporary humans wandered from the southeast and a continent has already found a home to a completely different type of man: primitive humans.

These modern people seemed early like us, but they were not alone. About 5000 years ago, the two types participated in this cold scene – sometimes, common genes.

The original is still written in our DNA. If the roots of your family are outside Africa, it is likely to be about 2-3 % of your primitive human genes. The legacy of this old interaction lives in almost almost today.

But until recently, scientists did not know much about those early human groups that were raised in Europe for the first time. A new study is now studying highlighting their lives, tools and sudden family relationships.

Bones of a German cave

Deep, a German cave called Rannis, scientists discovered a group of small, fragile bones.

The bones, which reach between 42,000 and 49,000 years, came from at least six individuals – men, women, and even children. Some were closely linked – it was one mother and daughter.

Through the border in Czechia, a skull was found in a site called The Golden Horse. The skull came from a woman who lived at the same time as people in Ranis. Initially, the team did not know whether the two sites were connected.

After extracting the DNA from these old remains, the researchers discovered amazing. The woman was from Czechia and two Rannis, the fifth or sixth -class relatives.

This is the level of communication that you may share with a distant cousin. This meant that these people were not isolated, but they were part of a greater society than the first Europeans.

Rannis Cave is known in a specific style of old tools called LRJ, short to tools Lincolbee-Ranecy specialist.

For years, archaeologists discussed whether these accurate stone tools have been designed by primitive or contemporary humans. Now there is a clear answer.

Since the tools and bones were found side by side, the DNA shows that the bones came from modern humans, it has now been confirmed that modern humans are in the first to form these tools.

This also connects Zlatý Kůň with the same culture. Although its skull was found without near tools, its genetic link with the Ranis Group indicates that it is likely to use – or at least know – LRJ tools as well.

A short -term family tree

The team is from Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Recove the oldest high -quality modern human genres at all.

One of the samples of Rannis, nicknamed Ranes 13, had well preserved that researchers could rebuild his entire genome with incredible details.

But what they found added a layer of mystery. These first Europeans, including Ranis13, and women from Zlatý Kůň, have not been left to leave any offspring in today’s world. Their genetic line disappeared.

This does not mean that they do not matter. Their DNA still holds the effects of a much older meeting with primitive humans. This happened once, between 45,000 and 49,000 years, before the group is completely transferred to Europe.

The group of human mystery and primitive human beings

Other old human beings present in Europe and Asia show signs of the newest Niardetal.

In some cases, the preliminary human ancestors were only 10 to 20 generation. This is like having great grandchildren’s grandchildren.

But Ranis and The golden horse of the individual There were no signs on these modern mixtures. The primitive DNA came from the same event that all non -African people share. Do not overlap. There is no second wave.

This difference indicates something curious: This early group may have entered Europe in a different way. Or maybe they did not cross the paths with many primitive people during their stay.

What is the size of the group?

Looking at the joint DNA pieces in Ranis and Zlatý Kůň, scientists estimated the size of the group. They only believe a few hundred people who have formed this entire population, and spread in a wide area.

It is a small number. It hints how unstable life should be on the edge of the ice age, in an unfamiliar land, with harsh winter seasons and difficult competition from primitive people who described the area as a home for a long longer.

How do these old cousins ​​look like?

By examining specific genes associated with physical features, researchers found that they may have dark skin, dark hair and brown eyes. This corresponds to what we expect from people with modern African origins, which certainly had.

They were among the first to leave Africa and enter the frozen border in Europe. They may not have survived the long term, but they were part of the same type that would one day build cities, write the symphony, and send satellites to orbit.

Transient presence, permanent story

“These results provide us with a deeper understanding of the oldest pioneers who settled in Europe,” said Johannes Kraos, author of the study.

“They also point out that any modern human remains exist outside Africa over the age of 50,000 years could not have been part of the non -African joint population who express primitive humans and are now all over the world.”

Their time was short and their lineage did not last – but people Rannis and Zlatý Kůň left behind a story buried in the bones and stone.

A story about movement, communication and the inability to predict. They did not become our ancestors. But they were still part of us.

The full study was published in the magazine nature.

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