The two human species were able to coexist in Europe for nearly three millennia before the first disappeared.
40,000 years ago, Neanderthal man disappeared from the surface of the globe whileA wise manstood out as the only human species. However, for several tens of thousands of years, these species each had their area of influence: Neanderthal evolved in Europe, sapiens in Africa, and Asia was the territory of a third group, that of the Denisovans. Then as our ancestors ventured out of their African cradle around 60,000 years ago, the other groups all died out.
But we know that contacts took place between Neanderthals and sapiens: DNA analyzes show that all current non-African populations inherited part of their genome (2 to 4%) from Neanderthals. A new study published in the journal Scientific Report brings new elements to the period during which our sapiens ancestors rubbed shoulders with their Neanderthal “cousins” at the tip of Europe.
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