A Harvard team of scientists is behind a fantastic discovery in the archaeology field. The scientists used ancient DNA from Africa to find out more about the history of humankind. The Harvard team consists of scientists from the Harvard Medical School, and with their help, a discovery appeared.
The first genome with ancient DNA exists now, and it has sequences from the West to central Africa. All the work was possible with the remains from the Cameroon site. The site from Cameroon had four individuals dated from 3,000 years to 8,000 years ago.
Working with the remains from this site and creating this genome, the scientists could find new data about the populations which existed in the Saharan Africa. In that way, they could identify the relationship we now have with the ancestral population and to even discover when and by whom the Bantu language was spread and talked.
Scientists sequenced ancient DNA from 8,000-year-old-children
Moreover, during their work, they found out that besides the African population, some other unknown individuals were living there. The anonymous community is also contributing to the DNA found today in the contemporary African people.
The principal contribution of the ancient DNA is coming from the remains of two children who lived between 3.000 and 8.000 years ago. This means that the data collected is including the transition from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
Finally, the site from where the two children were discovered, had buried another 18 skeletons. The scientists’ theory is that the region of the site is the same area in which the Bantu language born and then spread. They are supporting this theory because they found out similarities between the people from the central, eastern, and southern Africa with the ones from the West.
