An Homo sapiens skullcap with archaic features similar to those of Neanderthals and Homo erectus was found near Salkhit in 2006 during gold mining operations at depth 5–6 m.[2] Original estimates dated the skullcap to about 22,100 years old, but later re-dating in 2010 indicated 23,630 BP.[2][3]
In 2019, the Salkhit skull was again radiocarbon dated, analyzing hydroxyproline in bone-extracted collagen, placing it in the range 34,950–33,900 cal BP.[4] Despite its archaic features, genetic reconstruction of ancient DNA from the skull indicates the specimen falls on a novel branch of mtDNA haplogroup N, one of two basal haplogroups ancestral to all non-African populations. Application of a molecular clock to the mtDNA sequence yielded a date for the skull of 12,910 to 39,410 years BP.[4] The Salkhit individual was found to have carried c. 74–78% 'Basal East Asian' Tianyuan-like ancestry and c. 22–26% Early West Eurasian Kostenki14-like ancestry. The Salkhit individual displayed a complex relationship to Ancient North Eurasians.[5]
