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Study Reveals Last Neanderthals Descended from Single Lineage

4/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers from California State University, Northridge, led by anthropologist Hélène Rougier, report that the last Neanderthals in Europe descended from a single lineage.
Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), ties a major ice-age climate event to a decline in Neanderthal numbers around 75,000 years ago.
Between 45,000 and 42,000 years ago, Neanderthals collapsed, possibly due to competition with early Homo sapiens or genetic vulnerabilities.

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Story summary

Researchers from California State University, Northridge, led by anthropologist Hélène Rougier, report that the last Neanderthals in Europe descended from a single lineage.
Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), ties a major ice-age climate event to a decline in Neanderthal numbers around 75,000 years ago.
Between 45,000 and 42,000 years ago, Neanderthals collapsed, possibly due to competition with early Homo sapiens or genetic vulnerabilities.