Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans

Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans occurred during the <a href="/facts/Middle_Paleolithic/NlQRStWY">Middle Paleolithic</a> and early <a href="/facts/Upper_Paleolithic/BnpabgyJ">Upper Paleolithic</a>. The <a href="/facts/Interbreeding/pzVJ54xU">interbreeding</a> happened in several independent events that included <a href="/facts/Neanderthal/19rBo6ze">Neanderthals</a> and <a href="/facts/Denisovan/ysNIvyS0">Denisovans</a>, as well as several unidentified <a href="/facts/Hominins/SflaMavS">hominins</a>.
In <a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">Europe</a>, <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a> and <a href="/facts/North_Africa/ItxQAfs7">North Africa</a>, interbreeding between <a href="/facts/Archaic_humans/DDp9HANE">archaic humans</a> and <a href="/facts/Early_modern_human/AxD254MP">modern humans</a> took place several times. The <a href="/facts/Introgression/8M4m4cae">introgression</a> events into modern humans are estimated to have happened about 47,000–65,000 years ago with Neanderthals and about 44,000–54,000 years ago with Denisovans.
Neanderthal-derived DNA has been found in the genomes of most contemporary populations, varying noticeably by region. It accounts for 1–4% of modern genomes for people outside <a href="/facts/Sub-Saharan_Africa/p4u389aa">Sub-Saharan Africa</a>, although estimates vary, and either none or up to 0.3% for those in Sub-Saharan Africa. <a href="/facts/Cushitic-speaking_peoples/3XC5eeLI">Cushitic</a> and <a href="/facts/Semitic_languages/WCYrz4Qm">Semitic</a> speaking populations from the <a href="/facts/Horn_of_Africa/jU4Xk52j">Horn of Africa</a> (such as <a href="/facts/Ethiopians/5IoSQnp3">Ethiopians</a>), who derive a large portion of their ancestry from <a href="/facts/West_Eurasian/KlLI9GDM">West Eurasians</a>, have ~1% Neanderthal-derived DNA.
Neanderthal-derived DNA is highest in <a href="/facts/East_Asians/kjxRJNsr">East Asians</a>, intermediate in <a href="/facts/Europeans/VR7tb16t">Europeans</a>, and lower in <a href="/facts/Southeast_Asians/onJCmsur">Southeast Asians</a>. According to some research, it is also lower in <a href="/facts/Melanesians/qkzvot5a">Melanesians</a> and <a href="/facts/Polynesians/9bNzIHx9">Polynesians</a> compared to both East Asians and Europeans. However, other research finds higher Neanderthal <a href="/facts/Genetic_admixture/WsJroSoA">admixture</a> in Melanesians, as well as in <a href="/facts/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas/LG2r6wXm">Native Americans</a>, than in Europeans (though not higher than in East Asians).
Denisovan-derived ancestry is largely absent from modern populations in <a href="/facts/Africa/XkqQUP9s">Africa</a>, <a href="/facts/Western_Asia/xXM15vIz">Western Asia</a> and Europe. The highest rates, by far, of Denisovan admixture have been found in <a href="/facts/Oceanian/vzTEvsfV">Oceanian</a> and some Southeast Asian populations. An estimated 4–6% of the genome of modern Melanesians is derived from Denisovans, but the highest amounts detected thus far are found in the <a href="/facts/Negrito/lEkHgo8s">Negrito</a> populations of the <a href="/facts/Philippines/ARpmxXQV">Philippines</a>. While some Southeast Asian Negrito populations carry Denisovan admixture, others, such as the <a href="/facts/Andamanese/k5Af1u3D">Andamanese</a>, have none. In addition, low traces of Denisovan-derived ancestry have been found in mainland Asia, with an elevated Denisovan ancestry in <a href="/facts/South_Asians/nvc6Xh7m">South Asian</a> populations compared to other mainland populations.
In Africa, archaic <a href="/facts/Allele/8FxCS9KA">alleles</a> consistent with several independent admixture events in the continent have been found. It is currently unknown who these archaic African hominins were. A 2020 paper found that "despite their very low levels or absence of archaic ancestry, African populations share many Neanderthal and Denisovan variants that are absent from Eurasia, reflecting how a larger proportion of the ancestral human variation has been maintained in Africa."
A 2016 paper in the journal Evolutionary Biology argued that introgression of DNA from other lineages enabled humanity to migrate to, and succeed in, numerous new environments, with the resulting hybridization being an essential force in the emergence of modern humans.
In December 2023, scientists reported that <a href="/facts/Gene/e1swwPY6">genes</a> inherited by modern humans from Neanderthals and Denisovans may biologically influence the daily routine of modern humans.

Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans open-in-new

Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans