"Scientists have long speculated what caused the downfall of the Neanderthals, but a new study suggests they never truly went extinct at all. Scientists in Italy and Switzerland claim the ancient group of archaic humans didn't experience a 'true extinction' because their DNA exists in people today. Over as little as 10,000 years, our species, Homo sapeins, mated and produced offspring with Neanderthals as part of a gradual 'genetic assimilation'."
"'Neanderthal disappearance rather than a true extinction might be conceived as the result of genetic dilution.' Neanderthals (Homo neanderthaliensis) were a close human ancestor that lived in Europe and Western Asia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. The scientific community already knows Homo sapiens had sex with Neanderthals because DNA from Neanderthals has been found in the genomes of modern humans. In fact, most non-Africans today inherit one to two per cent of their ancestry from Neanderthals."
Neanderthal DNA persists in modern human genomes, indicating extensive interbreeding with Homo sapiens. Over as little as 10,000 years, Homo sapiens and Neanderthals mated and produced fertile offspring, enabling gradual genetic assimilation. Most non-African populations retain approximately one to two percent Neanderthal ancestry. Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa 60,000 to 70,000 years ago and encountered Neanderthals in Europe and western Asia, where both species coexisted for several thousand years. Genetic admixture likely drove Neanderthal disappearance through dilution of distinct Neanderthal lineages rather than a sudden, true extinction. Skeletal differences included large noses, double-arched brow ridges, and stocky bodies.
Read at Mail Online
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