Genes of the stone age: Population history of late Neandertal and early modern human groups in west Eurasia

Over the last decade, the sequencing and the analyses of ancient genomes proved invaluable in deciphering the origins, the movements, and the relatedness between past and present-day populations. The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe, starting ~47,000 years ago, is characterized by major changes in the archaeological record and is accompanied with the arrival of early human groups and the disappearance of Neandertals. However, little was known about the genetic history of these individuals. In this talk I summarize our recent work aimed at gaining a better understanding of the population history of late Neandertal and early human groups in west Eurasia, as well as their interactions, using ancient DNA.