Neanderthal legacy: How ancient interbreeding shapes US today
Our ancestors maintained relationships with Neanderthals for 7,000 years after leaving Africa. As reported in the weekly journal Science, this also includes intimate relationships, traces of which remain in our genes.
Approximately 60,000 years ago, our prehistoric ancestors left Africa and encountered Neanderthals, with whom they maintained various relationships for seven thousand years. According to Science, these contacts also involved intimate relationships, traces of which we still feel today.
When humans left Africa, they encountered other species from the Homo family that had left the continent earlier. Among them were Neanderthals, with whom our ancestors fought and established close relationships. Evidence of this can be seen in our genes. Our genome contains about 1 to 2 per cent Neanderthal genes.
Genes tell the truth
Scientists from Germany and the USA analysed 58 prehistoric genomes from human bones in Eurasia to determine the length of these relationships. The research showed that humans interbred with Neanderthals about 50,500 years ago and lasted for approximately 7,000 years until Neanderthals began to decline.
Neanderthal genes still play an important role in our bodies. They are responsible for immune functions, skin pigmentation, and metabolism. One gene inherited from Neanderthals provides resistance to the coronavirus that caused COVID-19. These discoveries illustrate how long-lasting and complex the relationships between our ancestors and Neanderthals were and how they impacted our genetic development.
