Researchers have discovered through DNA testing that at the end of the last ice age, at least two genetically distinct groups of humans were living in the same areas of Britain.
The discovery was published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. Scientists shared that following the last ice age, when humans returned to habitable lands roughly 15,500 years ago, they crossed a land bridge connecting Britain to mainland Europe.
Researchers shared that only a handful of human remains from the late ice age have been discovered in Britain, with sites like Gough's Cave in Somerset and Kendrick's Cave in Llandudno, Wales, being home to the ancient humans' final resting place.
Now, scientists like Dr. Sophy Charlton, a professor from the University of York and the first author of the study, have been able to extract DNA from two sets of remains found at those locations.
The extraction makes the DNA the oldest from Britain, and Charlton shared that researchers see more than one genetic ancestry in it, wiping away preconceived notions of what cultures and genealogies the remains belonged.
"We can see that there are two different genetic ancestry present in Britain during this late glacial period, which is perhaps not what we expected to find," Charlton said.
To make their discovery, Charlton and other researchers looked at the different diets and DNA makeup of the remains.
They found that the individual in Gough's Cave had a diet of mainly terrestrial animals like horses, while the individual in Kendrick's Cave had a diet that included marine creatures.
They were able to make the discovery by carrying out an isotope analysis of the remains. This allowed researchers to unpick the contribution of different food sources and refine their radiocarbon dating.
Then, scientists looked at the individuals' nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, which revealed that the remains in Gough's Cave belonged to a female who lived roughly 14,900 years ago. The female shared ancestry with an individual discovered in a cave in Belgium, known as Goyet Q2. Previous research found that the person lived 15,000 years ago.
The ancestry of the remains has been linked to Magdalenian culture, known for the use of stone tools, cave drawings, and treatment of their dead.
Some of the tools from the culture were found inside Kendrick's Cave with the other remains, which first had researchers thinking that the remains belonged to the same culture.
However, the remains found in Kendrick's Cave show a different lineage, with the remains belonging to a male who lived about 13,500 years ago. This individual has been found to share ancestry with remains dated to 14,000 years old that were found in Villabruna, Italy.
The researchers now think that Kendrick's Cave may have had multiple occupations, being that Megadalenian tools were found in Kendrick's Cave, but the remains are not from a Megadalenian individual.
Researchers now believe that at least two different human groups with different ancestries and belonging to other cultures were present in Britain during the end of the last ice age.
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