Modern Humans Harbor DNA from Two Unknown Ghost Hominins
A new computational method called TRACE uncovers traces of two unknown archaic human lineages in modern genomes. One African ghost lineage, diverging ~800,000 years ago and interbreeding with Homo sapiens over 50,000 years ago, contributes about 1% of every person’s DNA. A second, “super-archaic” lineage dating to ~1.8 million years ago mixed with Denisovans in Eurasia, with traces most evident in Oceania. Together, these lineages account for roughly 2% of the modern genome and include segments linked to immunity and metabolism, hinting at adaptive value. The study, published in Science on July 30, 2026, showcases how ancestral recombination graph methods can reveal deep ancestry without ancient DNA.