La evolución humana ha sido más compleja de lo que se pensaba y, en momentos en los que coexistieron diferentes especies de homínidos, se dieron hibridaciones entre linajes que fueron clave en el desarrollo de los humanos modernos). La evidencia genética nos ha demostrado que el Homo neanderthalensis (H. neanderthalensis) y el Homo sapiens (H. sapiens) se cruzaron, y que los humanos de hoy (excepto los africanos), somos el producto de esta mezcla.
El neandertal, descubierto por primera vez en 1856 en el Valle de Neander (Alemania), fue considerado como “tonto” y “bruto”, pero lo cierto es que eran capaces de fabricar herramientas, enterraban a sus muertos, cuidaban a sus enfermos y controlaban el fuego, cualidades similares a las de los humanos modernos.
Human evolution has been more complex than previously thought and, at times when different hominid species coexisted, interbreeding between lineages would have occurred. These studies suggest that, when Homo sapiens left Africa, instead of simply replacing archaic human species such as Homo neanderthalensis in other parts of the world, they would have been interbred with them. Taking into account this hypothesis, modern humans (except Africans) would be the product of this mixture.
Neanderthals, the closest evolutionary relatives of present-day humans, lived in large parts of Europe and western Asia before disappearing 30.000 years ago. They lived in nuclear families. Though sometimes thought of as dumb brutes, scientists have discovered that they used tools, buried their dead and controlled fire. Discoveries of elderly or deformed Neanderthal skeletons suggest that they took care of their sick and those who could not care for themselves. They typically lived to be about 30 years old. Neanderthals were primarily carnivorous, and the harsh climate caused them to resort occasionally to cannibalism.