Ancient DNA Reveals a Genetic Surprise in The Last Neanderthals - Science Alert

Theory Briefing

• Ancient DNA from the final Neanderthal populations contradicts the dominant idea that genetic collapse from inbreeding caused their disappearance.
• The genetic surprise suggests inbreeding-driven deterioration may not be the primary extinction mechanism, reopening the question of what killed them.
• Neanderthals were our closest relatives, making their extinction one of the most consequential — and still contested — events in human prehistory.
• If inbreeding wasn't the fatal blow, other culprits — competition with modern humans, climate shifts, or disease — move back into focus.