Archaeogenetics: DNA as a Key to Rewriting History

Archaeogenetics: DNA as a Key to Rewriting History

Researcher Pedro Soares explains how the study of ancient DNA is transforming our understanding of human origins — and challenging established narratives.

What if the history we know is incomplete — or even wrong? What if the answers to who we are and where we come from are not just in books, but inscribed on our own bodies?

Archaeogenetics, a rapidly expanding scientific field, is profoundly transforming how we look at humanity’s past. Through the analysis of ancient DNA extracted from bones thousands of years old, researchers can now reconstruct migratory movements, population mixing, and even episodes of large-scale genetic replacement.

It was precisely on this topic that Pedro Soares, a researcher at the Center for Molecular and Environmental Biology at the University of Minho, spoke in an interview with RUM – Rádio Universitária do Minho.

A time machine inside our cells

According to the researcher, archaeogenetics functions as a true “time machine”. By cross-referencing genetic data from current populations with ancient DNA, scientists are able to create detailed maps of human migrations over millennia.

This approach allows us to overcome the limitations of traditional archaeology, offering a more direct and objective view of the evolutionary history of the human species.

More than confirming theories, DNA has revealed surprises: unexpected routes, contacts between distant populations, and profound changes that left no evident record in material remains.

Portugal: a territory of crossbreeding

One of the most fascinating aspects revealed by research is the genetic complexity of current populations — including the Portuguese population.

Although there is no “typical Portuguese,” it is possible to identify an average profile resulting from multiple layers of ancestry. Among them, the following stand out:

• the first hunter-gatherers in the region;
• the agricultural populations of the Neolithic period, who arrived about 7,000 years ago;
• and significant contributions from populations of the steppes of Eastern Europe.

These are joined by more recent influences, such as flows from North Africa and population movements associated with historical periods such as slavery.

The result? A true genetic mosaic — dynamic, diverse, and constantly transforming.

When science challenges beliefs

Scientific discoveries are not always consensual. As Pedro Soares explains, the results of archaeogenetics can clash with deeply rooted cultural, historical, or religious narratives.

An example of this is the hypothesis that certain languages ​​and populations arrived in India about 5,000 years ago from Europe — an idea that contradicts older local beliefs.

Even so, the researcher emphasizes that the goal of science is not to confront, but to understand. Genetic data offers an evidence-based perspective, which contributes to a more complete picture of human history.

A puzzle still to be completed

Despite the advances, knowledge about human evolution is far from complete. Archaeogenetics continues to reveal new pieces of this complex puzzle, often in collaboration with other areas such as archaeology, linguistics, anthropology, or climatology.

What we already know, however, is clear: the history of humanity is neither linear nor homogeneous. It is made of encounters, mixtures, and constant transformations.

And perhaps the greatest discovery is this: each of us carries, in our DNA, a part of that history.

Listen to this interview on RUM podcast “UMinho I&D” here