Pigott EM, Cheshmedzhieva K, Zeller E, van der Sluis LG, Chowdhury MP, Gianni M, Végh E, Uthmeier T, Chabai VP, Patou-Mathis M, Šimková PG, Voglmayr JN, Weber GW, Pinhasi R, Timmermann A, Kuhlwilm M, Douka K, Higham T (2025)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article, Original article
Publication year: 2025
Book Volume: 122
Journal Issue: 45
Open Access Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2518974122
The Crimean Peninsula contains several important Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites,including Starosele, Kabazi II, and Siuren I. The region has been considered a poten-tial refugium for Neanderthals before their replacement by Homo sapiens. However,no genetic data have been obtained from any of these late Neanderthals, some beinginaccessible or badly preserved. Starosele is a notable site which has undergone excava-tions in recent years. We used collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (Zooarchaeology byMass Spectrometry, ZooMS), to screen for potential human remains among thousandsof fragmented bones from the site. Of the 150 bone fragments we analyzed, 97.3%had sufficient collagen preservation for taxonomic identification. Our results suggestPaleolithic humans primarily hunted horses. One ~5 cm bone fragment yielded peptidemass fingerprints matching Hominidae. Radiocarbon dating revealed an age range of46 to 45,000 y old, close to the transition from the disappearance of Neanderthals tothe dispersal of H. sapiens in western Europe. We sequenced a twofold coverage mito-chondrial genome from this bone, indicating the individual belongs to the Neanderthallineage. The mitogenome clusters with other Neanderthal mitogenomes previously gen-erated from the Russian Altai region. Alongside this, an analysis of the lithic corpusfrom both regions suggests that a wider Neanderthal dispersal, linked to the Micoquianstone tool industry, occurred after ~60,000 y ago. We assessed the paleoclimate con-nection (temperature and precipitation) between these locations and identified a highhabitat suitability corridor along 55°N, suggesting that the long-distance movement ofNeanderthals would have been facilitated by periods of favorable climate.
APA:
Pigott, E.M., Cheshmedzhieva, K., Zeller, E., van der Sluis, L.G., Chowdhury, M.P., Gianni, M.,... Higham, T. (2025). A new late Neanderthal from Crimea reveals long-distance connections across Eurasia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(45). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2518974122
MLA:
Pigott, Emily M., et al. "A new late Neanderthal from Crimea reveals long-distance connections across Eurasia." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 122.45 (2025).
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