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Russian, European archeologists continue teamwork amid growing political turmoil

According to Mikhail Shunkov, the scientists are systematically developing already existing projects and do not feel any pressure from the outside

MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Russian and European archaeologists, anthropologists and paleogeneticists continue their joint research of the genetic and cultural heritage of Denisovans, Neanderthals and other ancient humans found in Russia, despite the growing political tension between Russia and Europe, Mikhail Shunkov, head of the Department of Stone Age Archaeology, told a news conference at TASS on Thursday.

"Our joint work and scientific contacts continue. We have established very close interpersonal relations; we are systematically developing already existing projects and do not feel any pressure from the outside. Moreover, we have extensive plans to develop our teamwork," Shunkov explained.

In the spring of 2022, a large number of Western partners of Russian scientific organizations opted to give up on cooperation and joint projects over Ukraine. In particular, the European Space Agency refused to launch the ExoMars-2022 mission, while German partners of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences temporarily shut down the German X-ray telescope eRosita installed on board the Spektr-RG space observatory.

These processes, however, have not affected anthropological, paleogenetic and archeological studies, which European and Russian researchers jointly conduct in Russia, said the expert from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to him, scientists are now carrying out joint excavations, and developing new methods for analyzing ancient remains, including technologies for extracting and deciphering the fossil nuclear genome, as well as methods for identifying ancient animals based on the tiniest bone remains.

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