We have considered Neanderthals our ancestors, and that we are related to them. There are also the Denisovans, an Asian people who are considered our direct ancestors. Maybe because of the fossils we have a compelling interest in the Neanderthals. Both fossils and DNA suggests that Neanderthal and modern human lineages separated at least 500,000 years ago. They overlapped for up to 5,400 years.
Professor Thomas Higham published an article in 2023 on the mapping of DNA and concluded there was interbreeding: ‘Other recent studies of Neanderthal and modern human genetic make-up suggest that both groups interbred outside Africa, with 1.5%-2.1% or more of the DNA of modern non-African human populations originating from Neanderthals. And it is East Asians who seem to have the most Neanderthal DNA.
There was inter-breeding between Neanderthals and "modern humans." In that era the other humans were was Homo heidelbergensis, Homo intercessor or another species. Neanderthals were named Homo neanderthalensis in 1864, so Neanderthal seems more of a short-form and nickname. Just like "modern human" is a nickname for Homo sapiens to my mind.
Neanderthals are our closets ancient human relatives, but we leave off the Human from their name. What are they missing compared to us that we are so clear about our difference. It seems that research shows there isn't as much difference in their social and other behaviours. They made art, jewellery, and tools. But they didn't evolve over technically the thousands of years the way Homo Sapiens did. That's why we named us sapiens for 'wise' or 'astute'.
Which parts of the human genome have we inherited? Thicker hair and skin - useful in colder climates. Also immunity which would provide a quick fix against local infections. On the downside, diseases such as diabetes, lupus and Crohn's disease are inherited from the Neanderthal DNA. Another article says that our nose shape gene is inherited from Neanderthals. So likely there are more discoveries to come.
How much of the Neanderthal genome has been sequenced? In 2010 researchers had produced the first whole-genome sequence.
The groundbreaking research was conducted by Svante Pääbo who established a new scientific discipline, Paleogenomics. The article on his research being awarded the Nobel prize in 2022 is HERE.
This picture of the family tree divergence with the Denisovans and Neanderthals comes from that article. I look at that solitary figure in the far background. Could there be other human species that we haven't discovered? Discover Magazine says it is possible. Given how far we've come in understanding so that the Neanderthals are no longer considered inferior cave dwellers.
This is a bit of rust on the Calamus Winery shed. I named it Cave Dwelling. at the time.
