Neanderthal love saga: A 7,000-year impact on human DNA
Our ancestors maintained relationships with Neanderthals for 7,000 years after leaving Africa. As reported in the weekly journal Science, this includes intimate relationships, traces of which remain in our genes.
Approximately 60,000 years ago, our prehistoric ancestors left Africa and encountered Neanderthals. They maintained various relationships with them for seven thousand years. According to Science, these contacts also involved intimate relationships, traces of which we still carry today.
When humans left Africa, they encountered other species from the Homo family that had migrated earlier. Among them were Neanderthals, with whom our ancestors fought and formed close relationships. Evidence of this can be seen in our genes. Our genome contains about 1-2 percent Neanderthal DNA.
Genes tell the truth
Scientists from Germany and the USA analyzed 58 prehistoric genomes from human bones in Eurasia to determine the duration 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 have impacted our genetic development.
