Full Breakdown
50,000-Year-Old Antelope DNA Extends Africa’s Ancient-DNA Horizon
7/16/2026, 10:56:48 AM
Record-Breaking Extraction
Researchers recovered DNA from a 50,000-year-old tooth of a mountain reedbuck (*Redunca fulvorufula*) discovered in Boomplaas Cave, southern South Africa. The finding, published online May 27 in *Quaternary Science Reviews*, sets a new age record for sub-Saharan African DNA, surpassing the previous oldest human DNA (?18,000 years, Tanzania) and animal DNA (?9,300 years, extinct South African antelope). The study also identified DNA in three long-horned buffalo (*Syncerus antiquus*) specimens dated 21,000 and 12,000 years ago.
Preservation Context and Prior Findings
DNA degrades with a half-life of roughly 521 years, meaning half of the genetic material disappears every 521 years. Despite the region’s hot climate, the researchers detected low-quantity DNA in Late Pleistocene teeth, demonstrating that useful fragments can survive for tens of thousands of years. Earlier temperate sites, such as Spain’s Sima de los Huesos, have yielded DNA from ~400,000 years ago, but Africa’s conditions were thought to limit preservation to much younger ages.
Implications for African Paleo-genomics
The recovered fragments are sufficient to identify evolutionary lineages, opening possibilities to trace gene flow among extinct and extant bovid species. The team has since sequenced a 42,000-year-old wildebeest from Ethiopia, reinforcing the view that African DNA can persist longer than previously assumed. However, the harsh climate likely precludes retrieval from much older hominin fossils such as *Homo naledi* (~240,000 years) or *Paranthropus robustus* (~1 million years).
Skepticism and Limits
Study lead Deon de Jager, a paleogenomics expert at the University of Copenhagen, cautions that the reedbuck result is “not ironclad” because the specimen was contaminated with human DNA and is significantly older than the next-oldest sample. He notes that “there is of course a limit to DNA preservation in Africa, but what it is, is not clear,” and that “the chances of obtaining DNA from *Homo naledi* are very, very low, unfortunately.” Deep, stable caves or high-elevation sites may offer better preservation prospects, but a “nearly 1 million-year-old” African specimen would likely be impossible to recover.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The 50,000-year-old DNA is exciting,” — Deon de Jager, Study First Author
- “But I am myself skeptical of it, for two reasons.” — Deon de Jager
- “There is of course a limit to DNA preservation in Africa, but what it is, is not clear,” — Deon de Jager
- “I think the chances of obtaining DNA from Homo naledi are very, very low, unfortunately,” — Deon de Jager
- “One would have to get very lucky with an incredibly well-preserved skull with the petrous bone still present, which is the best bone for obtaining ancient DNA.” — Deon de Jager
