Scientists were able to connect an early Homo sapiens to a close Neanderthal ancestor, indicating the two species interbred in ancient Europe.
According to BBC News, authors of a study published in the journal Nature analyzed the DNA of a modern human who lived in Europe about 40,000 years ago. The researchers determined Neanderthals and Homo sapiens started interbreeding as far back as 55,000 years ago.
"We know that before 45,000 years ago, the only humans in Europe were Neanderthals. After 35,000 years ago, the only humans in Europe were modern humans. This is a dramatic transition," study co-author David Reich, an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Harvard Medical School, said in a press release. "But we have very few skeletons from this period."
The researchers analyzed a jawbone discovered in Romanian cave in 2002 alongside a skull that belonged to someone else. Reich called the jawbone "amazing," as the researchers noted it belonged to a modern human, but had clear Neanderthal traits.
"It's an incredibly unexpected thing," he told BBC News. "In the last few years, we've documented interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans, but we never thought we'd be so lucky to find someone so close to that event.
"This sample, despite being in Romania, doesn't yet look like Europeans today.
"It is evidence of an initial modern human occupation of Europe that didn't give rise to the later population. There may have been a pioneering group of modern humans that got to Europe, but was later replaced by other groups."
