Neanderthals survived on a knife's edge for 350,000 years: A pair of studies illuminates these humans' long, hardscrabble existence.

The article focuses on recent genetic research revealing that Neanderthals lived in small, isolated groups across Eurasia between 400,000 and 45,000 years ago, often experiencing inbreeding and surviving a near-extinction event around 75,000 years ago. Analysis of ancient DNA from bone fragments, including those found in Denisova Cave in Siberia, shows rapid genetic divergence due to small population sizes and geographic isolation. Despite accumulating harmful mutations, Neanderthals persisted for hundreds of thousands of years, but climate changes and the arrival of anatomically modern humans likely contributed to their eventual extinction about 42,000 years ago. These findings provide insights into Neanderthal population dynamics and may help explain why modern humans ultimately prevailed. [Extracted from the article]