First-ever genetic analysis of a Neanderthal family paints a fascinating picture of a tight-knit community
Our closest evolutionary relatives, the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), were once widespread throughout Europe and as far east as the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia. Yet more than 160 years after the first Neanderthal fossils were discovered in Europe, little is known about the group size or social organization of Neanderthal communities. Using ancient DNA, a …