📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Michal Klajban
Science
Ancient DNA from Uttarakhand Lake Sediments Reveals Early Human Settlement in Himalayas
✍️ researchmatters.in
🗓 07 Aug 2026, 08:33 PM
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Scientists have extracted ancient DNA from lake sediments in Uttarakhand, indicating that humans reached the Himalayas much earlier than previously thought.
Researchers analyzed sediment cores from a high‑altitude lake in Uttarakhand and recovered fragments of ancient DNA. The genetic material, belonging to early human populations, dates back several thousand years earlier than the earliest known archaeological evidence in the region. This finding challenges the prevailing view that the Himalayas were settled by humans only in the last few millennia.
The study, published on the researchmatters.in platform, used advanced sequencing techniques to isolate DNA from layers of lake sediment. By comparing the genetic sequences with those of modern and prehistoric populations, the team was able to estimate the time of human presence.
Experts say the discovery opens new avenues for understanding migration patterns into the high Himalayas and may prompt a re‑examination of other Himalayan sites for earlier human activity.
The study, published on the researchmatters.in platform, used advanced sequencing techniques to isolate DNA from layers of lake sediment. By comparing the genetic sequences with those of modern and prehistoric populations, the team was able to estimate the time of human presence.
Experts say the discovery opens new avenues for understanding migration patterns into the high Himalayas and may prompt a re‑examination of other Himalayan sites for earlier human activity.