Recently Discovered Ancient African Genome May Prove Back to Africa Migration Theory

Oct 09, 2015 08:24 AM EDT

(Photo : REUTERS/Euan Denholm) A scientist holds a skull named "Selam" of a fossil discovered in an area of Ethiopia called Dikika, September 20, 2006. A 3.3 million-year-old skeleton of the earliest child ever found shows the ancient ancestor of modern humans walked upright but may have also climbed trees, scientists said on Wednesday. Researchers say DNA evidence collected from a fossil found in Ethiopia may prove the theory that there was a major migration back to Africa during the Neolithic age after people had left there to occupy Europe and Asia.

A team of scientists in Ethiopia have successfully obtained the DNA of an ancient man, who lived in the area more than 4,500 years ago. The scientists, who published their findings on Thursday, said that the man's genome proves that there was great back to Africa migration that occurred approximately 3,000 years ago.

Like Us on Facebook

The results of their study has published in the Science Journal.

The flow of Eurasian stone-age farmers back to Africa is acknowledged by many scientists. Researchers believe that the migration of the Neolithic people was quite considerable - most the people in modern Africa carry Eurasian genes due to those ancient immigrants.

The BBC reported that many Africans today can trace as much as 25 percent of their genetic makeup from these Neolithic people.

Research spokesperson Doctor Andrea Manica said all of the DNA samples obtained from every location and population in the African continent contained considerable Eurasian genes.

Obtaining DNA materials from ancient bones in Africa was not possible until a few decades ago because of the rapid pace that decomposition occurs in the continent's hot climate.

The ancient African was found in a cave called Mota in the Ethiopian highlands. The ancient skeleton has since been dubbed the 'Mota man.'

Scientists took his DNA from a bone known as petrous, which is located beneath the skeleton's ear. Manica explained that the petrous is one of the hardest bones in the human skeletal system and that bacteria can not easily contaminate its DNA component.

Their examination revealed that the 'Mota man' is of pure African stock - his DNA was unaltered by the back flow of Eurasian migrants.

Geneticists believe that people in Africa started coming out of Africa as early as 60,000 years ago and some of them came back in later years. The back flow migration that happened 3,000 years ago is now being considered a major event.

Eurasian stone-age migrants introduced farming to the European continent almost 8,000 years ago. After 5,000 years, many of them decided to go back to Africa.

The researchers can not yet explain what made the neolithic farmers migrate again, but their genes are so widespread that even those considered as pure Africans were found to have at least 5 percent of the Eurasian DNA.

TagsMota Man, Ancient African, Neolthic farmers, Eurasian DNA, Flow Back to Africa, Back to Africa migration, DNA Sequencing, Stone age human genome, Science Journal, Doctor Andrea Manica