Thaindian News

Washington, April 3 (ANI): Researchers have found that Europe was populated by people from Kashmir around 40,000 years back and that they carry two to four percent Neanderthal genes - an ancient species of homosapiens.

The study, conducted by the UC Davis Anthropology Department at the US, found that about four percent (ranging from two to five percent) of all modern humans, except African descent, have Neanderthal genes left over from matings between the two peoples in prehistoric times, reports Greater Kashmir.

“Scientists look for genetic signatures to classify an individual’s mtDNA (mitochondria DNA) into different types, or haplogroups. These haplogroups represent major branches on the family tree of Homo sapiens. A 30,000-year-old Russian cave man had U2 mtDNA. And people in Europe today have U2 DNA as well as people living in India,” reads an excerpt from the study, published by allvoices.com.

“You have numerous people with U2e, the European version of U2 living in Europe, especially in Italy today, and Germany as well as other places in Europe. It’s widely distributed throughout all of Europe in current times. And you have India-specific U2i mtDNA living primarily in India, especially NW India and Kashmir,” it added.

So, did people from India, Kashmir, and Pakistan as well as the rest of Central Asia populate Europe?

“Yes. And after that migration, around 40,000 years ago moving West into Russia and then into the rest of Europe came another migration from the Middle East, when climate allowed it to open up, around 45,000 years ago. A lot of those cave people were mammoth hunters or followed the animal herds before the last ice age began. But U2 in Europe is still pretty rare in modern populations, although it does exist,” read the article.

According to excerpts, it is archeologically proven that Neanderthal man-a long extinct species-has lived in Kashmir.

“Archeologically one can establish that Neanderthal man has lived in Kashmir, Pakistan and Central Asia. However we cannot say whether his genes are still available in these areas or not,” said Prof Aijaz Banday, professor of Archaeology at the University of Kashmir.

“Unless and until we have the DNA profile of the people in these areas, then only it can be properly established. That profiling has not been done so far. One cannot outrightly deny such studies that Neanderthal genes are present in Kashmir, but we can authentically prove it only after going for the DNA profiling,” he added. (ANI)