Oct
08
2008
One of the most infamous emperors of Chinese antiquity was the very first: Qin Shi Huang. Also known as Ying Zheng, he ruled the Chinese state of Qin from 247-210 BC. When he came to power, various Chinese kingdoms were engaged in a struggle against each other for superiority; by the time he died in [...]
Tags: mitochondrial DNA, Qin Dynasty, Terracotta Soldiers
Aug
07
2008
Despite mounting genetic evidence that modern humans are not descended from Neanderthals, there are still some who argue that our two species interbred when both roamed Europe about 35,000 years ago.
A report appearing tomorrow in the journal Cell puts another nail in that theory’s coffin. Svante Paabo’s group at the Max Planck Institute for Anthropology [...]
Tags: ancestry, evolution, mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA, Neanderthals
Mar
07
2008
People who study the spread of humans to the Americas can agree on one thing – the first migrants crossed from Asia by way of a land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska.
Just about everything else is subject to debate: who the people were, where they originated, when they migrated, how numerous they were and what [...]
Tags: Americas, mitochondrial DNA, North America