Scientists Sequence the Oldest Human DNA in the UK — Here’s What They Found

  • تاريخ النشر: الجمعة، 15 مايو 2026 زمن القراءة: دقيقة قراءة

DNA from Gough's Cave and Kendrick's Cave uncovers genetic and cultural diversity in post-Ice Age Britain.

The DNA Came From Ice Age Britain

The Oldest Sample Came From Gough’s Cave

Another Group Was Found in Kendrick’s Cave

Britain Had Two Distinct Populations

The Groups May Not Have Overlapped

Their Diets Were Different Too

Their Tools Raised New Questions

Their Funerary Practices Were Not the Same

The Discovery Complicates Britain’s Prehistory

More DNA Could Change the Story Again

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Britain’s ancient past has often been told through stone tools, bones, caves, and changing coastlines. But DNA can add something more personal: it can show who people were related to, how they moved, and whether different groups living close together were actually connected. That is why the sequencing of the oldest human DNA yet recovered in the UK matters so much.

Scientists studied ancient human remains from Gough’s Cave in Somerset and compared them with remains from Kendrick’s Cave in Wales. The results showed that around 14,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age, Britain was not home to one simple returning population. Instead, two genetically and culturally distinct groups were present within roughly 1,000 years of each other.

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