Researchers have found evidence of a third hominin lineage that interbred with early modern humans in Africa before any left the continent, adding to the known Neanderthal and Denisovan contributions. The source remains a "ghost lineage" with no fossil genome yet identified, but new analytical techniques are revealing its genetic imprint in modern human DNA.
Background
Prior research has confirmed that non-African modern humans carry ~2% Neanderthal DNA from interbreeding events after humans migrated out of Africa. This new study extends the search for archaic ancestry into Africa itself, where the lack of preserved ancient DNA makes identifying ghost lineages particularly challenging.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Aug 1, 2026 at 06:17 AM
- Score
- 8.0 / 10