We present a high-quality genome sequence of a ~45,000-year-old modern human male from Siberia. This individual derives from a population that lived prior to – or simultaneously with – the separation of the populations in western and eastern Eurasia and carries a similar amount of Neandertal ancestry as present-day Eurasians. However, the genomic segments of Neandertal ancestry are substantially longer than those observed in present-day individuals, indicating that Neandertal gene flow into the ancestors of this individual occurred 7,000–13,000 years before he lived. We estimate an autosomal mutation rate of 0.4–0.6×10−9/site/year and a Y chromosomal mutation rate of 0.7–0.9×10−9/site/year based on the additional substitutions that have occurred in present-day non-Africans compared to this genome, and a mitochondrial mutation rate of 1.8–3.2 × 10−8/site/year based on the age of the bone.

Whereas evolutionary inferences derived from present-day DNA sequences are by necessity indirect, ancient DNA sequences provide a direct view of past genetic variants. However, base lesions that accumulate in DNA over time may cause nucleotide misincorporations when ancient DNA sequences are replicated. By repeated amplifications of mitochondrial DNA sequences from a large number of ancient wolf remains, we show that C/G-to-T/A transitions are the predominant type of such misincorporations. Using a massively parallel sequencing method that allows large numbers of single DNA strands to be sequenced, we show that modifications of C, as well as to a lesser extent of G, residues cause such misincorporations. Experiments where oligonucleotides containing modified bases are used as templates in amplification reactions suggest that both of these types of misincorporations can be caused by deamination of the template bases. New DNA sequencing methods in conjunction with knowledge of misincorporation processes have now, in principle, opened the way for the determination of complete genomes from organisms that became extinct during and after the last glaciation.

The large radiocarbon database now established for Paleolithic sites in Siberia and the Russian Far East can be used to build up a picture of relative population size in these regions. We consider the time period of ca. 46,000 to 12,000 B.P. for which we have assembled and critically studied 437 radiocarbon dates. All dates from individual sites that fall within 1,000 14C years are considered as a single event and called occupation episode. The results of our analysis show that the number of 14C dates until ca. 28,000 B.P. is small and increases at ca. 28,000–20,000 B.P, and dates decrease in frequency for the ca. 20,000–16,000 B.P. time range. It is after ca. 16,000 B.P. that we see a substantial rise in the number of 14C dates. In terms of the relative size of Siberian Paleolithic populations based on the frequency of occupation episodes, population density was small until ca. 36,000 B.P. Subsequently, population size increased gradually at ca. 36,000–16,000 B.P., and the growth rate became almost exponential at ca. 16,000–12,000 B.P. The number of occupations from ca. 20,000 to 18,000 B.P. did not decrease, running counter to arguments that Siberia was completely or considerably depopulated during the Last Glacial Maximum.

No abstract

The Altai Mountains in southern Siberia are one of the prime regions for archaeological investigation in Russia. We present data on the environmental, chronological and technological evidence recorded from major Pleistocene sites in the Altai. These show that hominid populations in this region lived in both forested and open environments, particularly in the Late Pleistocene, and used mainly Mousterian and Upper Palaeolithic technologies for manufacturing stone tools. The Palaeolithic archaeology of the Altai is important for increasing our knowledge of Pleistocene human adaptations in Eurasia, including the issue of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, the dynamics of human adaptation to higher elevations, and deciphering what significance the Altai may have had in regional Asian hominid dispersal. 14C GX-17602 Charcoal Goebel 1993 Okladnikov Cave layer 7 44,800 ± 4,000 U-series* none given Bone Derevianko and Markin 1992 layer 7 44,600 ± 3,300 U-series* none given Bone Derevianko and Markin 1992 layer 3 38,725 ± 145 U-series* none given Bone Derevianko and Markin 1992 layer 3