A century-old question concerning the Neanderthals has been settled, thanks to new genetic evidence. After extracting DNA from fossil bones, anthropologists say they are now sure that Neanderthals were not our ancestors, but a side branch of our family tree that became extinct about 30 000 years ago.
The first Neanderthal bones were discovered in 1856, in a limestone cave in Germany. Ever since, their role in human prehistory has been controversial. Heavy-boned and muscular, the Neanderthals have been embraced by some scientists as forerunners of modern European populations, while others have rejected them as irrelevant. Over the past few decades, the pendulum has swung in the latter direction, with Neaderthals judged to be a distinct species.
Nevertheless, as Northern Illinois University anthropologist Fred Smith observes, "among rank and file physical anthropologists, many were not convinced that Neanderthals were a separate species". Smith, who has backed the view that Neanderthals ...
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