The most difficult evo­lu­tion riddles

Interbreeding between Neanderthals with modern humans took place several times. Neanderthal-derived DNA was found in the genome of contemporary populations in Europe and Asia, it accounts for 1–4% of modern genomes. Neanderthal genes are absent from most modern populations in sub-Saharan Africa.

Neanderthals are named after the first site where their fossils were discovered in the mid-19th century – it was a river valley in Germany named Neanderthal. Neanderthal remains were found in Europe (early range), as well as Southwest, Central, and Northern Asia (late range).

Neanderthals had large cranial capacity (1,600 cm3), which was larger than that of modern humans. Compared to modern humans, neanderthals had shorter legs and bigger bodies - this was likely an adaptation to preserve heat in cold climates. Larger eye sockets suggest that their eyesight may have been better than that of modern humans.

The name of homo habilis indicates that it was the first human ancestor which used and created stone tools.

The name of homo erectus indicates that it was the first human ancestor which was bipedal.

The name “homo sapiens” was introduced in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus.