By analyzing the DNA of a baby found in southern Italy, scientists have a striking picture of the young boy. The poorly developed child lived during the Ice Age about 17,000 years ago. He likely had curly dark hair, brown skin, and blue eyes.
In 1998, his remains
were discovered in the Grotta delle Mura cave in Monopoli, Puglia. The baby’s
bones were carefully covered with rock slabs. With no grave goods, the simple
burial was the only grave in the cave.
The largely intact
skeleton revealed the child was about 2.5 feet tall when he died. Recent dental
examination revealed he was between 8 and 18 months old. Radiocarbon dating
stated the remains were 16,910 to 17,320 years old, meaning he lived a few
centuries after the Last Glacial Maximum, when glaciers covered a quarter of
the planet’s land, some 20,000 years ago.
Ancient skeletons found
in warm climates are often too degraded for any significant genetic analysis.
But the cave was so cool, the boy’s remains were well preserved. Researchers
were able to recover about 75% of the boy’s genome, which is remarkable.
His skin was darker
than most modern Europeans’, but his pale blue eyes match those of other
western European hunter-gatherers. The infant appears to be related to the
Villabruna cluster, a group of post Ice Age people who lived up to 14,000 years
ago. This suggests the Villabruna line began in southern Europe well before the
end of the Ice Age.
Researchers also
determined his cause of death. He had an inherited condition that causes the
heart muscle to thicken. This results in fatal congestive heart failure.
Nine accentuated lines
marking the baby’s teeth indicate “physiological stress events” that occurred
before and after birth. Isotopes in the teeth suggest that his mother stayed in
one area during pregnancy and may have been malnourished. His birth was likely
difficult, according to a fracture in the baby’s collarbone.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/an-ice-age-infant-s-17-000-year-old-dna-reveals-he-had-dark-skin-and-blue-eyes/ar-AA1sFhf0?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=ed46623d933043f19069e3bf9a8f9350&ei=23
