We interbreed with Neanderthals
For about 7,000 years the two lineages mix, and the result is in most genomes alive today.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 7 thousand years
- Known to
- ± 2 thousand years
- Era
- Late Pleistocene, Quaternary
Analysis of ancient genomes published in 2024 dates the main interbreeding to a window beginning around 50,500 years ago and lasting some 7,000 years, shortly after the exit from Africa. Everyone with non-African ancestry carries roughly 1 to 2 per cent Neanderthal DNA. It is not randomly distributed: variants affecting skin, hair, immunity and altitude persist, while Neanderthal ancestry is depleted on the X chromosome and near genes expressed in the testes, indicating reduced hybrid male fertility.