Ancient DNA Reveals the Last Neanderthal’s 50,000-Year Genetic Isolation
DNA From a 42,000-Year-Old “Last Neanderthal” Points to 50,000 Years of Isolation
DNA recovered from a 42,000-year-old Neanderthal suggests that the individual’s population had remained isolated for roughly 50,000 years.
The finding offers a rare glimpse into the genetic history of Neanderthals and the extent to which some of their communities remained separated over long periods. It also adds to scientific understanding of how ancient human populations were structured before Neanderthals disappeared.
Because the evidence comes from a single individual, it does not by itself describe every Neanderthal population. However, it provides an important genetic record of isolation in the period leading up to the species’ disappearance.
