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Updated: Sep 24, 2025
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Optimized Bone Sampling Protocols for the Retrieval of Ancient DNA from Archaeological Remains
Published on: November 30, 2021
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Inferring intelligence of ancient people based on modern genomic studies.
Kaisar Dauyey1,2, Naruya Saitou3,4
1Department of Genetics, School of Life Science, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan.
Journal of Human Genetics
|May 9, 2022
Summary
Ancient intelligence can now be quantified using polygenic prediction. Genetic analysis of ancient individuals suggests their intelligence was comparable to modern humans, indicating intelligence may be an evolutionarily neutral trait.
Area of Science:
- Paleogenetics
- Human Evolution
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Intelligence is a complex, highly heritable trait influenced by genetic and environmental factors.
- Recent advances in polygenic prediction enable the quantification of genetic components of complex traits.
- Genome-wide association studies have identified numerous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with intelligence in contemporary populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the genetic component of intelligence in ancient human individuals.
- To compare the potential intelligence of ancient humans with present-day populations.
- To investigate the evolutionary dynamics of intelligence-associated alleles.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 12,037 previously identified intelligence-associated SNPs.
- Applied polygenic prediction methods to ancient DNA from a Funadomari Jomon individual (3700 years BP) and an Afanasievo nuclear family (4100 years BP).
- Assessed the genetic component of intelligence in these ancient individuals.
Main Results:
- Ancient individuals possessed a genetic component for intelligence comparable to present-day humans.
- Alleles associated with intelligence showed equal distribution between ancestral and derived origins.
- This suggests intelligence may not have been under strong selective pressure during human evolution.
Conclusions:
- Polygenic prediction is a viable tool for assessing genetic traits in ancient human populations.
- Ancient humans had a genetic potential for intelligence not inferior to modern humans.
- The evolutionary trajectory of intelligence-associated alleles suggests a neutral role in human evolution.
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