Just three percent of prehistoric humans mated with their family compared to TEN PERCENT of today's global marriages that occur between first or second cousins, DNA tests find

A DNA analysis of prehistoric humans reveals mating between cousins is more common today than it was over the last 45,000 years ago.

Scientist from Max Planck Society analyzed DNA from remains of 1,785 individuals and found only 54 of the subjects, or three percent, had the typical signs of their parents being cousins.

This is compared to the more than 10 percent of all modern-day global marriages that occur among first or second cousins.

The team notes that the 54 individuals with parents who were cousins did not cluster in space or time, showing that cousin mating was spora...