Ice Age Europeans Maintained Long-distance Ties, DNA Shows

WHO:

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The international research team was led by the University of Vienna; first author Pere Gelabert said eastern and western Europeans were less isolated than researchers had assumed.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Senior author Ron Pinhasi said sediment DNA can provide genetic information when human remains are missing and connect archaeological layers to the ancestry of people who lived at a site.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The study examined a woman from Isturitz Cave, a person from Ormesson, genomes from Chufín Cave, DNA from El Mirón Cave, and Ostuni1b, a male fetus likely to have been the son of Ostuni1.

Phys.org - An international research team led by the University of Vienna studied people associated with the Gravettian culture.

WHAT:

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The study, published in *Science Advances*, combined genomic data from rare human remains with human DNA recovered from cave sediment.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The Isturitz woman’s genome was the oldest genome-wide data from a modern human in southwestern Europe. Most of her ancestry matched the western European line, but she also had ancestry associated with central and eastern European groups.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - A previously studied person from Ormesson showed a similar eastern-western ancestry signal.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Chufín Cave genomes indicated that western ancestry persisted in the region for thousands of years.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Researchers recovered about 14,000 genetic markers from a 22,000-year-old layer at El Mirón Cave, despite finding no human bones or teeth there. The DNA matched the Fournol lineage and indicated it persisted through the Last Glacial Maximum.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Ostuni1b’s parents were not closely related; his father likely came from the same genetic group as his mother. The findings challenge earlier models of steady local ancestry from the Aurignacian to the Solutrean.

Phys.org - The study reported genetic evidence of long-distance connections among Gravettian populations.

WHERE:

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Isturitz Cave and Ormesson are in France; Isturitz Cave is in southwestern France.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Chufín Cave is in northern Spain, and El Mirón Cave is in Cantabria. Ostuni1b was from southern Italy.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The findings identify the Iberian Peninsula as a possible refuge during the Last Glacial Maximum.

WHEN:

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The Gravettian culture spread across Europe from about 34,000 to 25,000 years ago.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Genetic models date the Isturitz woman’s eastern-western ancestry mixing to between 32,500 and 31,500 years ago; she lived around 30,000 years ago.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The El Mirón layer was 22,000 years old. The Last Glacial Maximum lasted roughly from 26,500 to 19,000 years ago.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Earlier models covered the Aurignacian-to-Solutrean period, about 24,000 to 19,000 years ago.

WHY:

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The researchers said the results, together with archaeological finds, suggest Isturitz was a meeting place for different groups and that the Iberian Peninsula provided refuge during the Last Glacial Maximum.

HOW:

Archaeology News Online Magazine - Researchers used human DNA preserved in cave sediment to obtain ancestry information where human bones or teeth were absent.

Archaeology News Online Magazine - The team is combining sediment DNA with protein studies to investigate early modern-human expansions across Europe and interactions with carnivores.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 13:07 UTC)

A study of ancient DNA is revealing more contact among Europe’s early human groups than researchers had assumed. Led by the University of Vienna, the international team combined genomes from rare human remains with DNA recovered from cave sediment. A woman who lived in southwestern France about 30,000 years ago carried mostly western European ancestry, but also ancestry linked to central and eastern Europe. The researchers found a similar pattern in a person from Ormesson, suggesting long-distance connections among people of the Gravettian culture. In northern Spain, DNA from a 22,000-year-old layer at El Mirón Cave matched the Fournol lineage, despite the absence of human bones or teeth. Evidence from Chufín Cave suggests western ancestry persisted in the region for thousands of years. Together, the findings point to the Iberian Peninsula as a possible refuge during the Last Glacial Maximum.