Scientists Sequence First Ancient Irish Human Genomes

Posted on: 28 December 2015

 

December 2015

 

A team of geneticists from Trinity College Dublin and archaeologists from Queen’s University Belfast has sequenced the first genomes from ancient Irish humans, and the information buried within is already answering pivotal questions about the origins of Ireland’s people and their culture. Read more here and watch a video here.

 

The team sequenced the genome of an early farmer woman, who lived near Belfast some 5,200 years ago, and those of three men from a later period, around 4,000 years ago in the Bronze Age, after the introduction of metalworking.

 

Extensive international media coverage included:

 

Washington Post

Boston Globe

International Business Times

Deutsche Welle

The Telegraph

The Guardian

Lonely Planet

Irish Independent

The Journal

BBC News

Irish Times

 

Media Contact:

Thomas Deane, Media Relations Officer | deaneth@tcd.ie | +353 1 896 4685