Ancient Mota genome (first ancient African genome)
Genoma antiguo de Mota (primer genoma africano antiguo)
- Date
- 2015 (individuo de c. 4500 años) · confidence high
- Place
- Mota Cave, Gamo, Southern Nations, Ethiopia
- Credited to
- Marcos Llorente, Andrea Manica and an international team
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
The complete genome of a man about 4,500 years old found in a cave in the Ethiopian highlands, the first of an ancient African. It revealed a large migration of Eurasian-related populations into East Africa some 3,000 years ago.
Published in Science (2015). The genome shows little Anatolian farmer ancestry, the signal of Neolithic expansion into Europe; that gene flow from Eurasia returned to East Africa was a main conclusion. Coordinates are for the Gamo highlands area.
What it led to
- reinterpretation of the ancestry of present-day African populations
- ancient DNA studies of the continent (Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa)
- adjustment of models of African demographic history