UK had at least two genetically distinct human groups at end of last ice age, DNA reveals

Analysis of oldest DNA in Britain from pair of individuals unexpectedly shows two distinct ancestries

Britain was home to at least two genetically distinct groups of humans at the end of the last ice age, the oldest human DNA from the UK has revealed.

About 19,000 years ago, ice sheets that had covered much of Britain were melting and the landscape once again became habitable to humans. Evidence of their return dates back to about 15,500 years ago. These early groups crossed now submerged land that once connected Britain to mainland Europe.