Neanderthals: Facts, news, features and articles about our extinct human relatives
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150,000-year-old rock-shelter in Tajikistan found on 'key route for human expansion' used by Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and DenisovansA newfound rock-shelter in Tajikistan has artifacts created by ancient humans spanning 130,000 years.
By Sierra Bouchér Published
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Neanderthals and modern humans interbred 'at the crossroads of human migrations' in Iran, study findsA new ecological model suggests Neanderthals and modern humans interbred in the Zagros Mountains in what is now Iran before going their separate ways 80,000 years ago.
By Kristina Killgrove Published
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Did Neanderthals wear clothes?Braving the cold weather required Neanderthals to have robust bodies and to know how to make fire. But did they wear clothes?
By Kristina Killgrove Published
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Who was the last Neanderthal?We don't know when the last Neanderthal died, but many archaeologists think some of the last lineages lived in southern Iberia.
By Kristina Killgrove Published
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Did we kill the Neanderthals? New research may finally answer an age-old question.Feature A complex picture of how Neanderthals died out, and the role that modern humans played in their disappearance, is emerging.
By Kristina Killgrove Published
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DNA of 'Thorin,' one of the last Neanderthals, finally sequenced, revealing inbreeding and 50,000 years of genetic isolationThorin — nicknamed after a dwarf in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" — is also called the "last Neanderthal" because he may have lived as recently as 42,000 years ago.
By Kristina Killgrove Published
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Why did Homo sapiens outlast all other human species?What's the secret to Homo sapiens' success as a species?
By Mindy Weisberger Published
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Neanderthals didn't truly go extinct, but were rather absorbed into the modern human population, DNA study suggestsModern human DNA may have made up a surprisingly large amount of the Neanderthal genome, a new study finds.
By Charles Q. Choi Published
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Neanderthals cared for 6-year-old with Down syndrome, fossil find revealsThe unique shape of an ear bone belonging to a Neanderthal child found in a cave in Spain suggests that she had Down syndrome.
By Laura Geggel Published
