Ancient DNA reveals Ice Age Europeans maintained long-distance genetic ties
A new study in Science Advances reveals that Ice Age Europeans were more genetically connected than previously thought. Researchers found that a 30,000-year-old woman from Isturitz Cave in France carried ancestry from central and eastern Europe, challenging the view that western and eastern Gravettian populations were isolated. The findings suggest long-distance gene flow occurred around 32,500 to 31,500 years ago, while local groups in Spain and Italy maintained stable regional lineages through the Last Glacial Maximum.