The First Europeans: Ancient Genomes Reveal Complex Histories of Human Expansion and Neanderthal Interactions

Genomes from 45,000-year-old remains uncover a small, isolated group of early modern humans, their ties to Neanderthals, and their vanishing legacy.

A Glimpse into Europe’s Earliest Settlers

Over 45,000 years ago, small groups of modern humans roamed the icy expanse of Ice Age Europe. Among these pioneers were individuals whose lives and genetic histories have now been reconstructed from the oldest modern human genomes yet sequenced. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropo…