An international team led by the University of Vienna has found genetic links between eastern and western European groups more than 30,000 years ago. Announced on October 23 and published in Science Advances, the research combines DNA from human remains and cave sediment to examine contacts among people associated with the Gravettian culture.
That culture spread across Europe about 34,000 to 25,000 years ago. Archaeological finds suggested extensive connections, while earlier genetic evidence indicated relatively stable eastern and western ancestry groups. The researchers report that long-distance genetic exchange occurred alongside lasting regional population continuity.
A woman who lived about 30,000 years ago at Isturitz Cave in southwestern France carried mainly western European ancestry, with an additional contribution related to central and eastern populations. Genetic models place the mixing around 32,500 to 31,500 years ago. First author Pere Gelabert said the findings challenge assumptions of genetic isolation; a previously studied person from Ormesson, France, showed a similar signal.
In northern Spain, DNA from Chufín Cave supports the persistence of western ancestry over thousands of years. At El Mirón in Cantabria, the team recovered human nuclear DNA from a 22,000-year-old sediment layer without human bones or teeth. Senior author Ron Pinhasi said sediment can connect archaeological layers to their occupants' ancestry. The results support Iberia's role as an Ice Age refuge.
In southern Italy, a male fetus, Ostuni1b, was probably the son of the previously studied woman Ostuni1. His father likely belonged to the same genetic population, although the parents were not close relatives. These interpretations do not establish exact travel routes. The team is now combining sediment DNA with protein analyses to investigate early human expansions and interactions with carnivores where organic remains are scarce.
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