Everything Everywhere Daily · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Modern genetics has confirmed that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens could produce fertile offspring, leading to Neanderthal DNA being present in 1-3% of people today, excluding Sub-Saharan Africans. This genetic exchange, likely occurring 45,000 to 49,000 years ago, indicates a more complex relationship than previously thought, with some earlier Homo sapiens also contributing DNA to Neanderthals.
“Modern genetics has demonstrated this conclusively. Researchers began sequencing Neanderthal DNA in the 1990s, and in 2010, a draft Neanderthal genome was available.”
“Today, most people outside Sub-Saharan Africa carry roughly 1 to 3% Neanderthal ancestry, although the percentage varies by population and individual.”
“The event responsible for much of the Neanderthal ancestry in today's non-African populations appears to have occurred roughly 45,000 to 49,000 years ago, probably somewhere in Western Eurasia or the Middle East.”