The analysis, published July 12 in the journal Science, showed that the two groups exchanged DNA at multiple points over the past 250,000 years, shedding light on how Neanderthals disappeared and potentially rewriting the story of how and when our Homo sapiens ancestors left Africa. Genetic detective workDuring the two earlier waves of interbreeding, the Neanderthal population absorbed human genes and the offspring stayed within Neanderthal groups, according to the new study. Russian archeologists digging inside Denisova cave located in the the Altai mountains that's been home to Neanderthals, early modern humans and the Denisovans. A skull found in Qafzeh Israel is believed to have belonged to an early modern human. The researchers’ analysis suggests that the Neanderthal population size at the time was 20% smaller than previously thought.

---

Persons: ”, Joshua Akey, Sigler, ” Akey, Nobel, Svante Pääbo, Laurits Skov, wasn’t, Akey, “, Homo sapiens, Eddie Gerald, Alamy, Chris Stringer, “ I’ve, ” Stringer, De Agostini, Stringer Organizations: CNN, Lewis, Sigler Institute, Princeton University, University of California Locations: Africa, University of California Berkeley, Vindija, Croatia, Altai, East, Europe, London, Cave, Greece, Israel