# Genome of a 30,000-year-old woman from Isturitz Cave in France shows gene flow across Ice Age Europe

- Published: 2026-11-05 04:47 UTC
- Section: Science › Research
- Tags: Ice Age Europe genetics, Gravettian culture, Isturitz Cave genome, sedimentary DNA, El Mirón Cave, Last Glacial Maximum, Iberian refuge, ancient human genomes, Chufín Cave, Ostuni1b
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-214acc7113950737fc656bd0_genome_of_a/

**University of Vienna researchers combined genomes with cave sediment DNA and found long-distance gene flow alongside regional continuity through the Last Glacial Maximum.**

![Genome of a 30,000-year-old woman from Isturitz Cave in France shows gene flow across Ice Age Europe](https://sgzwpqqelzmajkcubgkl.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/rt-media/2026/11/d1f887efd513b910.jpg)
*Ceri Shipton, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0*

A woman who lived in southwestern France about 30,000 years ago carried ancestry that was mostly western European, with a part related to populations of central and eastern Europe. This is reported by SciTechDaily on a study by an international team led by the University of Vienna, published in Science Advances. [1] Her remains were found at Isturitz Cave and yielded the oldest genome-wide dataset yet obtained from a modern human in southwestern Europe. [1]

## Gene flow between eastern and western Europe

The Gravettian culture spread across Europe roughly 34,000 to 25,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence suggested extensive contact between groups, while earlier ancient DNA pointed to relatively stable eastern and western ancestry groups. The researchers combined new and previously published genomes with human DNA recovered from cave sediments. [1]

Genetic modeling places the exchange between eastern and western populations around 32,500 to 31,500 years ago, before the woman lived. [1] A previously studied individual from Ormesson, France, showed a similar genetic signal. According to first author Pere Gelabert, the results show that eastern and western European populations were not as genetically isolated as previously assumed. Together with archaeological findings, the data strengthen the possibility that Isturitz was a meeting place for different groups, although the DNA cannot show how those encounters occurred. [1]

## Sediment DNA and regional continuity

In northern Spain, genomic evidence from Chufín Cave points to western European ancestry persisting for thousands of years. At El Mirón Cave in Cantabria, a sediment layer about 22,000 years old contained enough human nuclear DNA to identify the ancestry of the people who occupied the cave, although the layer held no human skeletal remains. [1]

The DNA showed that western European ancestry persisted through the Last Glacial Maximum. With the Chufín data, this supports the idea that the Iberian Peninsula served as a refuge during a period of extreme cold. [1] Senior author Ron Pinhasi said that sedimentary DNA makes it possible to link archaeological layers with the genetic ancestry of the people who occupied a site.

In southern Italy, the team analyzed Ostuni1b, a male fetus who was most likely the son of a previously studied woman, Ostuni1. His father probably belonged to the same population as his mother, but the parents were not closely related. The researchers interpret this as a possible sign of mating practices that helped prevent high levels of inbreeding. [1]

Gelabert's team is now combining sedimentary DNA with proteomic analyses, which examine proteins, to study the earliest expansions of modern humans across Europe. The approach may also help clarify how these populations interacted with carnivores at sites where organic remains are too scarce for a clear record.

## Sources

1. [SciTechDaily](https://scitechdaily.com/a-woman-who-lived-30000-years-ago-is-changing-what-we-know-about-ice-age-europe)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-214acc7113950737fc656bd0_genome_of_a/