Were the Cro-Magnons Rh Negative?

The answer is “I don’t know”.
There has never been an official study done as far as I know.
All we have to go by is indications and then decide to either follow it up with a study or let it rest until we get more information.

One of the myths that has been proven wrong was the claim that the Neanderthals were rh negative.
“… both are homozygous rhesus positive.” was the reply from the Max Planck Institute to my question about the blood types of the two Neanderthal specimens they have examined.
So when it comes to the Neanderthals we were looking in the wrong direction and the biggest mistake that people have made was to spend time on a theory which didn’t have an official study attached to it.

But nevertheless, I am now willing to look at the Cro-Magnon and some common denominators they might have with today’s groups of high rh negative percentages.

The following genetic tests have been performed on Cro-Magnon remains:

A complete AMH male skeleton was discovered in 1823 in a cave burial in Gower, South Wales, United Kingdom. It was the first human fossil to have been found anywhere in the world. At 33,000 years old, it is still the oldest ceremonial burial of a modern human ever discovered anywhere in Western Europe. Associated finds were red ochre anointing, a mammoth skull, and personal decorations suggesting shamanism or other religious practice. Numerous tools were with the skeleton as grave goods. Genetic analysis of mtDNA yielded the haplogroup H, the most common group in Europe.

Let’s take a look at mtDNA H:

High presence amongst the Basques and in Celtic regions. Also in northern Africa amongst the Berbers.

A 2003 sequencing on the mitochondrial DNA of two Cro-Magnons (23,000-year-old Paglicci 52 and 24,720-year-old Paglicci 12) identified the mtDNA as Haplogroup N.

A 2015 study sequenced the genome of a 13,000 year old Cro-Magnon from Switzerland. He belonged to Y DNA Haplogroup I2a and mtDNA haplogroup U5b1h.

Y-DNA I2a looks interesting. It is high in the Fertile Crescent region and surrounding it. There is also no denying that in Europe regions with high percentages of rh negative are standing out, such as Basque country, Ireland and Scotland.

Some Mediterranean islands are also high in it which might indicate how the ancient tribes might have migrated from the Sumerian region towards the European areas high in rh negative blood today. Also connectes the Berbers.

MtDNA U5 stands out in Basque Country, connects the Berbers, the Fertile Crescent and Catalonia as well as maintaining a presence in the British Isles. And then there are the Sami of northern Norway. Though not high in rh negative blood, still of interest: The Sami (or Saami)

So who were the Cro-Magnons?

They were the first early modern humans (early Homo sapiens sapiens) that lived in the European Upper Paleolithic. Current scientific literature prefers the term European early modern humans (EEMH), to the term Cro-Magnon, which has no formal taxonomic status, as it refers neither to a species or subspecies nor to an archaeological phase or culture. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiocarbon dated to 43-45,000 years before present that have been discovered in Italy and Britain, with the remains found of those that reached the European Russian Arctic 40,000 years ago.

Cro-Magnons were robustly built and powerful. The body was generally heavy and solid with a strong musculature. The forehead was fairly straight rather than sloping like in Neanderthals, and with only slight browridges. The face was short and wide. The chin was prominent. The brain capacity was about 1,600 cc (98 cu in), larger than the average for modern humans.

So …

Were the Cro-Magnons rhesus negative?

There is a chance they all were, none were and some were.
According to above genetical study highlights, there are strong connections to populations high in rh negative blood.
This does indicate a group of strong interest to be further examined concerning their blood types.

If you have any further information about the blood types or genetic history of these hunter-gatherers, please leave a comment below or contact us through this site.