Shocking Discovery About Neanderthals and Early Human Women: They Had "CLOSE CONTACTS", and Here's What They Looked Like
The latest research sheds a different light on one of the most intriguing periods of human evolution and suggests that Neanderthals played a significantly greater role in our genetic heritage than previously thought.
TL;DR
- New research suggests Neanderthals had a greater role in human genetic heritage than previously thought.
- Interbreeding between early humans and Neanderthals primarily occurred between male Neanderthals and early human women.
- This explains the pattern of Neanderthal DNA distribution on human and Neanderthal X chromosomes.
- Human X chromosomes show a lack of Neanderthal DNA, while Neanderthal X chromosomes have more human DNA.
- The findings point to a sexual bias in prehistoric encounters between the two species.
- Early humans and Neanderthals diverged evolutionarily about 600,000 years ago.
- Neanderthal X chromosomes contain 62% more modern human DNA compared to their other chromosomes.