Making sense of hominin DNA
Scientists are learning more about the rich history of hominins by combining traditional fossil and morphological evidence, behavioural information (such as where hominins lived, and what tools or artwork they made), and now genetic evidence. We can now sequence DNA from bone fragments that date back to a time when humans co-existed with Neandertals in Europe. A recent discovery in Russia added a new twist to the story by preceeding any morphological data with genetic data extracted from one pinky finger bone. Dr. John Hawks, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, talked about what this result might mean and how it fits into the larger picture of hominin evolution.
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