First multi-individual Neanderthal mitogenomes from north of the Carpathians
At Stajnia Cave (Poland), nine Neanderthal teeth have now been integrated into a single high-resolution study combining morphological assessment, radiocarbon dating, and complete mitochondrial (mt) genome sequencing. We report eight new mitogenomes, including from four never-before-analyzed teeth, that resolve a minimum of seven, and possibly eight individuals. Three of the specimens share identical mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), indicating that they are either from the same or maternally related individuals. Molecular branch shortening estimates place all samples in marine isotopic stage (MIS) 5, with point estimates of ∼119,700-92,498 years ago, making this the oldest multi-individual Neanderthal genetic assemblage yet characterized in Central Europe. Other Neanderthals with similar haplotypes were present in southeastern France, Iberia, and the Caucasus, suggesting this mt lineage might have been widespread across Europe before being replaced with the mtDNA of the "late Neanderthal type." Our analysis of the Stajnia fossils positions Central-Eastern Europe not as a peripheral fringe, but as a pivotal area for tracing Neanderthal geographic distribution.
Authors
- Mateja Hajdinjak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4064-0331)
- Wioletta Nowaczewska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1907-554X)
- Adam Nadachowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6452-3028)
- Marcin Żarski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0699-6561)
- Krzysztof Stefaniak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4116-7275)
- Alex Bayliss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2782-1979)
- Andrea Picin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8831-8325)
- Adrian Marciszak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1472-6553)
- Janet Kelso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3618-322X)
- Paweł Socha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6405-6201)
- Rita Sorrentino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6529-7250)
- Antonino Vazzana
- Erica Piccirilli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7819-0923)
- Johannes van der Plicht
- Marcin Binkowski
- Timothy J. Heaton
- Paweł Dąbrowski
- Sahra Talamo
- Gregorio Oxilia
- Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Stefano Benazzi
- John Richard Southon
- Lukas Wacker
- Paula J. Reimer
- Andrzej Wiśniewski
- Maarten Blaauw
- Helen Fewlass
Institutions
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- University of Groningen (NL)
- Morpho (United States) (US)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- University of Wrocław (PL)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Wroclaw Medical University (PL)
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE)
- Akademia Łomżyńska (PL)
- Irvine University (US)
- Polish Geological Institute (PL)
- Ospedale San Giuseppe (IT)
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals (PL)
- University of Warsaw (PL)
- University of Silesia in Katowice (PL)
- University of Palermo (IT)
- University of Bologna (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Current Biology
- Published
- 2026-04-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.03.069
- Primary Topic
- Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
- Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
- Ministero dell'Istruzione e del Merito