AI interpretationAI-generated
New genomes reveal a lost Ice Age ancestry in Italy.
Researchers sequenced four hunter-gatherer genomes from central-southern Italy, dating to about 19,000-12,500 years ago. They found a previously unknown ancestry called Romito9-like. This ancestry mixed with the Fournol cluster to help form the El Mirón group, and with a Balkan component to shape the Villabruna cluster. After the Last Glacial Maximum, the Oberkassel-Villabruna cluster spread across most of Italy and mixed with Romito9-like people, except in Sicily where Romito9-like ancestry continued into the Mesolithic.
- A previously unrecognized European ancestry, Romito9-like, existed in Ice Age Italy.
- Romito9-like ancestry contributed to both El Mirón and Villabruna groups through admixture.
- After the Last Glacial Maximum, Oberkassel-Villabruna spread across Italy but not Sicily, where Romito9-like ancestry persisted.
Sample interpretation
The study presents four new genomes from two sites: Grotta del Romito and Riparo Vado All’Arancio in central-southern Italy. They date from roughly 19,000 to 12,500 years ago. No Y-chromosome or mtDNA haplogroup data are given in the abstract, and no sample counts or cultural labels are provided. These genomes are key because they fill a gap in our knowledge of ancient Italian hunter-gatherers.
For genealogy enthusiasts
This shows Italy was a melting pot of ancient ancestries, not just a backwater. If you have Italian roots, your deep ancestry may include the Romito9-like component, which survived longer in Sicily. It also highlights how Ice Age populations mixed and moved across Europe.
Abstract
The peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans occurred over 45 kya. While there is a broad understanding of the genetic diversity of ancient hunter-gatherers in central and northern Europe, our knowledge of Italy remains limited. In this study, we present four new genomes from hunter-gatherers buried in two central-southern Italy sites (Grotta del Romito and Riparo Vado All’Arancio), dating back approximately 19,000 to 12,500 cal. years ago. Our analysis reveals the presence of a previously unrecognized ancestry in Europe: Romito9-like which, through admixture with the Fournol cluster, contributed to the genetic makeup of the El Mirón, and, mixing with a Balkan component, helped shape the ancestry of the Villabruna cluster. Following the Last Glacial Maximum, we observe the spread of the Oberkassel-Villabruna cluster, which admixed with Romito9-like genetic component across much of Italy, except in Sicily, where the continuity of Romito9-like ancestry persisted until the Mesolithic.