Ancient DNA from the Upper Paleolithic mammoth ivory of Hohle Fels, Germany

Abstract

Hohle Fels, a cave in southwestern Germany, hosts one of the richest and best-preserved Upper Paleolithic ivory assemblages, with some of the earliest examples of figurative art, musical instruments, and personal ornamentation. Despite this, its ivory had never been tested for ancient DNA (aDNA). Here, we genetically analyze 25 anthropogenic ivory fragments from Upper Paleolithic archaeological layers and demonstrate the feasibility of aDNA recovery from non-permafrost ivory. We show that cementum yields significantly more and higher-quality aDNA than dentin, making it the preferred ivory material for paleogenetic investigations. Low-coverage genome-wide data revealed a female bias, potentially reflecting either natural herd structure or biases in the procurement of ivory material. Mitochondrial DNA enrichment allowed the reconstruction of twelve complete mtDNAs, revealing that the specimens were sourced from multiple distinct mammoth lineages. Together, these results demonstrate that archaeological ivory can provide unprecedented insights into both mammoth biology and Upper Paleolithic human behavior, including hunting strategies, raw material selection, and symbolic practices of European hunter-gatherers. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-46761-x. Subject terms: Evolution, Genetics