Iran May Have Served As A Meeting Ground For Neanderthals, Denisovans, And Modern Humans

Research have charted ancient humans' paths through what is now Iran, concluding that climatic change both aided and impeded their advancement.

Although it is unclear when and when these prehistoric encounters took place, the presence of prehistoric hominin genes in the present human genome indicates that Homo sapiens once interbred with other species like Neanderthals and Denisovans. Just where this happened is a mystery.

The authors of a recent study¹ have retraced the likely dispersal paths u…