NewsHumans in the Near East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa were interacting in the Stone Age, DNA from 15,000-year-old skeletons shows. Meredith BrandThe excavated cemetery is probably the largest and oldest cemetery in Africa. The cemetery potentially has over 100 burials from the Later Stone Age, making it the largest and oldest cemetery in Africa, he says. To probe this Sub-Saharan connection, the researchers examined genetic similarities between the samples and a variety of modern and ancient populations that represent the human genetic diversity within Sub-Saharan Africa, says Choongwon Jeong, the study’s co-senior author. More sampling from ancient North and Sub-Saharan African skeletal remains should hopefully clarify the remaining questions surrounding the Sub-Sharan genetic component of the Taforalt individuals, the researchers say.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 28, 2018 15:33 UTC