Archaic Hominin Admixture:
Paleogenomic studies have found that modern humans interbred with Neanderthals and Denisovans, and that some of us carry DNA from these archaic hominins. Among the discoveries of Paleogenomics, is the evidence of interbreeding between modern humans and archaic hominins like Neanderthals and Denisovans. These are extinct human relatives who lived alongside or before early modern humans. Neanderthals were a robust, cold-adapted group that inhabited Europe and Asia, while Denisovans were a more enigmatic group known primarily from limited fossil evidence in Siberia.
By analyzing ancient DNA extracted from Neanderthal and Denisovan fossils, scientists have found that modern human genomes, particularly those of people outside of Africa, contain traces of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA.
How much DNA do we carry?
The amount of Neanderthal DNA varies across different populations, but it’s estimated that people of European and Asian descent typically have between 1-4% Neanderthal DNA in their genomes. Denisovan ancestry is more localized, with higher percentages found in some populations in Southeast Asia and Oceania. This interbreeding suggests that when early modern humans migrated out of Africa, they encountered and interbred with Neanderthals and Denisovans. These encounters weren’t hostile takeovers, but rather involved some level of genetic mixing.
This discovery challenges the traditional view of a linear progression of human evolution, showing that our history is more complex and intertwined with other hominin groups. It also means that some of the genetic traits we have today may have been inherited from these archaic ancestors.