GGGGGGREAT Gramps was a Neanderthal

Is he in your family tree?

Neanderthals and modern humans, tens of thousands of years ago, had sex with each other in Europe and Asia. For this reason, we as modern humans still carry Neanderthal DNA in us. Researchers from Edinburgh University and Wageningen University come to this conclusion based on a comparative statistical analysis of DNA from Neanderthals and humans.

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This Could Be Your Ancestor

In what one expert called "a real freak of preservation." British archaeologists have unearthed an 2,000 year old skull carrying a surprise — an unusually well-preserved brain. The skull was found in a muddy pit during a dig at the University of York in northern England this fall.

Archaeologists do not know if they will be able to extract DNA from the brain. If they do, someone may find they have a very interesting story for their family tree.

Stone-Age 'Nuclear Family' Unearthed

Researchers used DNA analysis and other techniques to determine that a 4,600-year-old grave in Germany contained the remains of two adults and their children. This research provides the earliest evidence that even prehistoric tribes attached importance to the family unit, researchers said on Monday.Read More

Boy in Iron Coffin Identified as William White died 1852

A body in a cast iron coffin found by utility workers in Washington in 2005, has been identified.

Dozens of individuals used census records, obituaries in newspapers and DNA Testing to identify the remains as 15-year-old William Taylor White, who died in 1852.

William Taylor White was buried in the Columbia College cemetery and it appears he was simply left behind when the cemetery was moved.

White, from Accomack, Virginia was a descendant of Anthony West, one of the Jamestown settlers

The team of scientists working on finding who was buried in the coffin found an obituary published in the Daily National Intelligencer newspaper of Washington on Jan. 28, 1852, confirming White died Jan. 24, 1852, after a short illness.

Clothing historians were able to determine that he was dressed in a shirt, vest and pants that are consistent with clothing styles of the early to mid-1850s.

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