In the decade or so since scientists published the first sequence of the human genome, they have compiled genomic data on more than 10,000 ancient individuals. Most of these are people who lived so long ago that it is not possible to establish meaningful connections to modern individuals. But as researchers studying ancient DNA have developed closer relationships with archaeologists and historians, the number of human genomes from the recent past—just a few hundred years ago—has increased.
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Now scientists are discovering connections to modern-day relatives of African-American ironworkers in 18th-century Maryland and to important historical figures such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Native American leader Sitting Bull. Elucidating these relationships, researchers say, could shed light on the identities of historical figures and the later migrations of their descendants.
Such research could also help complete the genealogical histories of people about whom such information has been obscured or erased, such as the descendants of enslaved people. It’s “the next step in the field of ancient DNA,” says Éadaoin Harney, a population geneticist at the consumer genetics company 23andMe in Menlo Park, California. “It’s a new way of studying human history.”
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