Ancient DNA

A review of David Reich's new book on the revolutionary findings and insights from ancient DNA.

It’s not quite waffles and paella, but it appears that Neanderthals were omnivores who adapted to eating whatever was available to them in the regions where they lived. DNA samples...

DNA extracted from bones at a burial site in a rocky valley on a remote island in the South Atlantic could hold important information for those with ancestral roots in...

New research suggests that it took a long time before Europeans could actually benefit from consuming milk. Looking at DNA samples from the remains for more than 100 individuals who lived in Eurasia from 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, researchers in Norway found that it took a surprisingly long time before Europeans could tolerate milk.

Denisova cave from the outside. / Bence Viola. DNA isolated from a tiny bone fragment from the finger of a being that walked the earth between 30,000 and 50,000 years...

Artist’s impression of Inuk based on genetic analysis Nuka Godfredsen/Nature Editor’s note: This post has been edited from the original to reflect changes in 23andMe’s product. Tufts of hair rescued...

About 10,000 years ago, the prehistoric hunter-gatherers of Europe began meeting some new neighbors. These farmers spread gradually at first, expanding from the Near East through Anatolia and the Balkans....

On August 20, 79 AD, a series of small tremors and earthquakes began to shake the two ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.   Lying in the shadow of...

Archaeologists rarely agree on anything.   So it’s no surprise that for years two groups of scholars have drawn completely opposite conclusions about the relationship between the ancient people of...

About 4,600 years ago, in northern Germany, a small village buried 13 of its residents.   The deceased ranged in age from less than a year to nearly 60 years...