Two Neanderthals at the same Siberian cave 10,000 years apart were distant relatives

DNA from a 110,000-year-old bone fragment found in Denisova Cave produced a full Neanderthal genome and shows two individuals from the same cave 10,000 years apart belonged to related lineages.

Researchers extracted DNA from a 110,000-year-old Neanderthal bone fragment from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains and produced the fourth complete Neanderthal genome. Denisova Cave was used intermittently by Neanderthals and Denisovans over nearly 300,000 years. The new genome (called D17) was compared with three other complete Neanderthal genomes, including a 120,000-year-old female from the same cave (D5). The comparison aimed to clarify Neanderthal population structure in the region. Key findings: - The bone fragment (D17) is about 110,000 years old and yielded the fourth complete Neanderthal genome. - A 120,000-year-old Neanderthal from the same cave (D5) was not a direct ancestor of D17 but belonged to a closely related lineage. - Genetic markers indicate Altai Neanderthals lived in very small, isolated groups, often numbering 50 or fewer individuals, with long stretches of identical DNA consistent with close parental relatedness. - Altai Neanderthals were genetically distinct from later European Neanderthals, suggesting eastern and western Neanderthal populations diverged relatively quickly. - The researchers reported that high genetic separation between groups may have limited Neanderthals' ability to adapt to environmental changes. Summary: The study presents genomic evidence that Denisova Cave was used repeatedly by related Neanderthal lineages and that Neanderthal groups in the Altai region were small, isolated, and became genetically distinct over time. Undetermined at this time.