A revised timescale for human evolution based on ancient mitochodrial genomes

• Authors: FU Qiaomei; MITTNIK Alissa; JOHNSON Philip L. F.; BOS Kirsten; LARI Martina; BOLLONGINO Ruth; SUN Chengkai; GIEMSCH Liane; SCHMITZ Ralf; BURGER Joachim; RONCHITELLI Anna Maria; MARTINI Fabio; CREMONESI Renata G.; SVOBODA Jiří; BAUER Peter; CARAMELLI David; CASTELLANO Sergi; REICH David; PÄÄBO Svante; KRAUSE Johannes
• Year of publication: 2013
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: Current Biology
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Science
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.02.044
• Field: Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology
• Keywords: Human evolution; DNA mutations; mitochondrial genome; chronology
• Description: Recent analyses of de novo DNA mutations in modern humans have suggested a nuclear substitution rate that is approximately half of previous estimates. We use mitochondrial genome sequences from ancient modern humans as calibration points for the mitochondrial clock. Our results exclude most of the older dates from African and non-African population divergences.