# A groundbreaking study, led by researchers from the University of Cape Town and the University of Copenhagen, has delivered some of the oldest human genetic data ever recovered from Africa. The researchers used ancient proteins to uncover biological sex and hidden genetic variation in Paranthropus robustus – a close, extinct cousin of modern humans. Two-million-year-old protein traces extracted from fossilised teeth unearthed in South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind were analysed. University of Copenhagen’s Ioannis Patramanis says this revelation forces a rethink of how ancient hominin species are identified.
UCT at the forefront of a landmark discovery on early human genetics