![]() ![]() Basically, they took the results of other studies that had looked for associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and pigmentation phenotypes. For example, in 2012 Caio Cerqueira and coworkers presented a survey of the genotypes of more than a hundred genetic polymorphisms thought to be associated with pigmentation of hair, skin, and eyes in the known Neandertal and Denisovan genomes. So it was logical to expect that they wouldn't be in the Neandertal genomes. Those changes were mostly after 30,000 years ago, after the Neandertals were gone. My own research provided some of these findings, showing that positive selection in the ancestors of today's European and East Asian populations had affected many genes, including some involved in pigmentation. ![]() Neandertals should not have many of the alleles associated with light pigmentation in today's people.īy 2010 it was clear that many genetic variants that are strongly associated with pigmentation variation in living people are newcomers in our evolution. Most of us had a pretty strong idea of what the genotypes would look like. Lots of other geneticists, including the very smart scientists on Svante Pääbo's research team who obtained the sequences in the first place, were looking at those genotypes. When I was first able to look at DNA data from Neandertal genomes in 2010, one of the first things I looked for were alleles related to pigmentation traits in living people. Artists include Alfons and Adrie Kennis, John Gurche, Elisabeth Daynès, Tom Björklund, Oscar Nilsson, and Fabio Fogliazza. 15 min read A collage of Neandertal faces as imagined by artists and exhibited in museums during the genome era. ![]()
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