Europe's Late Neanderthals Descended From a Single Population, DNA Analysis Suggests

Study Finds Europe’s Neanderthals Descended from a Single Population

Europe’s late Neanderthals largely came from a single population. Credit: GreekReporter Archive Europe’s Neanderthals may have traced most of their later history to a single ancestral group, according to a new study that points to a major population shift long before the species disappeared. The research suggests Europe’s late Neanderthals across the continent were largely descended from a “single population” that spread widely after emerging in…

Europe's Late Neanderthals descended from a single population, DNA analysis suggests

A study incorporating new DNA data and archaeological evidence has shown that the last Neanderthals in Europe experienced a major population turnover, resulting in little diversity in their gene pool prior to their disappearance some 40,000 years ago.

Europe’s Late Neanderthals descended from a single population

24.03.2026 - A recent study incorporating new DNA data and archaeological evidence has shown that the last Neanderthals in Europe experienced a major population turnover, resulting in little diversity in their gene pool prior to their disappearance some 40,000 years ago.

Population dynamics of Late Neanderthals

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences—A study charts the dynamics of Late Neanderthal populations. The population history of Neanderthals in Europe could help uncover events that led to Neanderthals’ extinction. Cosimo Posth and colleagues compiled 10 mitochondrial DNA sequences of Neanderthals from six archaeological sites across Europe, dating to the Late Pleistocene Epoch. The... Read more »