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Relevance: GS Paper III — Science & Technology; Human Evolution Source: Nature, 2026

1 · What happened

A study in Nature has recovered the first molecular sequences from Homo erectus fossils found in China. Scientists extracted enamel proteins from teeth about 400,000 years old, taken from five male and one female individuals.

It is the biggest molecular recovery from an extinct human relative since the Denisovan genome 14 years ago, and reaches fossils that were long beyond the limits of ancient DNA.

2 · Why proteins, and what they revealed

Paleoproteomics studies ancient proteins in fossils. Because proteins are direct products of DNA, their sequences reveal parts of the genetic code — even when the DNA itself has decayed.

The Subject
Homo erectus
Extinct species, over 2 million years old; one of the first relatives to spread across Africa, Europe and Asia.
The Problem
DNA Decay
After death, enzymes, microbes, water and heat break DNA apart. Usable DNA survives only in cold, dry, stable places.
The Solution
Acid Etching
A dilute acid dissolves a tiny patch of tooth enamel, freeing trapped proteins while leaving the rare fossil intact.
The Finding
Two Protein Variants
One variant is unique to this fossil; a second is shared only with Denisovans, hinting at past interbreeding.

  • Why teeth: Enamel is a hard, mineralised tissue that shields proteins far longer than soft tissue.
  • A longer record: The molecular fossil record extends from about 160,000 years back to over 400,000 years.
  • A web, not a line: Several human species lived together and mixed, so evolution was not a single straight path.

UPSC Value Box
Paleogenomics Study of ancient DNA; the older approach now supplemented by protein study.
Neanderthals Genome sequenced 2010; most humans carry 1–2% of their DNA, African populations only 0.3–0.5%.
Denisovans Genome sequenced 2012; Oceania and parts of SE Asia carry 3–6% of their DNA.
Turkana Boy The most complete Homo erectus fossil found so far.
Introgression Genes passing from one species into another’s gene pool through repeated interbreeding.
Narmada Human Fossil found in India’s Narmada Valley (1982); advanced Homo erectus / archaic Homo sapiens.
AnSI Anthropological Survey of India; could use this method on India’s fossils.

MCQ Practice Question
Q. With reference to recent advances in the study of human evolution, consider the following statements:

  1. Paleoproteomics studies ancient proteins, which degrade more slowly than DNA.
  2. The Denisovan genome was the first extinct human genome to be sequenced.
  3. The Narmada Human fossil was discovered in India’s Narmada Valley.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only    (b) 2 and 3 only    (c) 1 and 3 only    (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

  • Statement 1 — Correct: Proteins last far longer than DNA, letting paleoproteomics read fossils as old as 400,000 years.
  • Statement 2 — Incorrect: The Neanderthal genome was sequenced first, in 2010; the Denisovan genome came later, in 2012.
  • Statement 3 — Correct: The Narmada Human was found in the Narmada Valley in 1982.
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