And Now for Something Totally Different: Inside the Denisova Cave

In 2010 DNA sequencing of a young girl's tiny finger bone from this Siberian cave proved to be from an individual who was neither a Neandertal nor a modern human. Since then more discoveries* have been made and this extinct line of ancient humans has been named Denisovan in reference to the location where their traces were found.

Several days ago a new discovery was announced: A woolly mammoth tusk “tiara” that could have been worn by a Denisovan man. The Siberian Times has an extensive article about the find and they also provided a video of a visit to the cave which made me realize I had no idea of what the region looks like.

[Warning: this video's sound is very loud, be prepared to turn down your speakers.]

Oh, and that "tiara"? Here's The Siberian Times' graphic:

[Source: The Siberian Times]

Hat tip to The History Blog.


*Including a female (nicknamed Denny) whose DNA is a mixture from her Neandertal mother and Denisovan father.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Testing, Testing: My DNA Results from National Geographic's Geneographic Project

There weren't any surprises when I looked at the results from my Geno 2.0 Next Generation test: 99% European divided into 40% Northwestern Europe, 32% Southwestern Europe and 26% Eastern Europe. Their regions are larger and less well defined than those in my other tests but overall the results track with what I already knew based on my known pedigree and had confirmed by AncestryDNA and 23andMe. (Oh, and I'm 1.5% Neanderthal according to this test, less than predicted by 23andMe but still higher than the average of this test's 834,322 participants.*)

Through what they're calling "Genius Matches" I'm informed that I share direct maternal ancestors with the Italian renaissance poet Petrarch (perhaps as recently as 25,000 years ago) and Abraham Lincoln (maybe as far as 65,000 years back). What value does this information have to me? If it's intended to make me feel a closer connection to these two historic figures, it's not working.**

[Portrait of Francesco Petrarca from Wikimedia Commons]

Because I participated in Nat Geo's earlier mitochondrial DNA test I already knew that my maternal haplogroup is J1C2. Those of you who have still to find out their own*** may find the section explaining the development of the various haplogroups useful.

The major problem I have with this test is illustrated in this quote from the Project's FAQ in response to a query about the availability of the raw data:

For Geno 2.0 Next Gen Participants (but not Geno 2.0 Next Gen Helix co-branded kits) the raw analytical output from your DNA sample is available for purchase through our partner, Family Tree DNA. Go to My Profile, select the My Results tab and scroll down till you see Transfer my Results on the right hand side. 

For Geno 2.0 Next Gen Helix co-branded kit Participants, we are currently exploring options to be able to make this available to you.

As someone who used the Helix-branded kit not only can't I see my raw data now, it's clear from the first sentence above that if/when it will be available, I would have to pay extra for it.

In retrospect I'm not sure what I was expecting from this DNA test when I sent my little tube across town (literally, as Helix is a San Diego based company) but I'm underwhelmed by the results and looking around on the internet I see that I'm not alone.


*According to the website that's the number to date.
**I'm not sure whether I'm more irked than amused by these matches.
***To discover your haplogroup might be the only reason I would recommend this product to anyone.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

I See By My DNA That I Am Neanderthal

Of course that's a gross exaggeration--according to my recently received 23andMe results less than 4% of my overall DNA can be traced back to Neanderthal ancestors. Even this small amount puts me at the upper end of the range.*

We've come a long way since the mid-19th century when scientists made the realization that fossilized bones that had been discovered in France, Belgium and, most famously, the Neander Valley in Germany belonged to an older species of hominid. And ongoing genetic research has made it clear that they are still influencing some of us.

[Prehistoric man. 3.--The Neanderthal man, member of the hunting race inhabiting central France in Mousterian times. Stereograph created by Philip Brigandi, Philip, 1873-1945, photographer, Los Angeles, California, c1924.

Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.]

If I ever make it to Düsseldorf I definitely want to visit the Neanderthal Museum. It looks like a fun place.

[Be part of the human family...Neanderthal Museum Home Page]

Here are several recent articles on Neanderthal DNA:

Neanderthal DNA has subtle but significant impact on human traits

Ancient Neanderthal Still Influences our Genes

*23andMe states that I have more Neanderthal variants than 94% of their customers.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.