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The old theory of the disappearance of Neanderthals speaks of their extinction due to a possible extinction by Homo sapiens, but over time many scientists have begun to doubt this. More recent assumptions follow the assimilation hypothesis, in which the two species began to interbreed, mixing their genes, and as a result, Homo neanderthalensis disappeared naturally, mixing with modern human populations.

While we can’t give a definitive answer to this question, we do know one thing for sure: Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis have interbred for thousands of years.

New research shows that It was here, in the Zagros Mountains, that the two species of humans first interbred.This at least changed the fate of our species, as millennia later we still carry Neanderthal DNA.

Archaeologist Saman Guran of the University of Cologne and colleagues used a combination of genetic, archaeological, topographic and environmental data to narrow down the area to this region.

We believe that the Zagros Mountains served as a corridor facilitating settlement. [сучасних людей] Neanderthals in the north and
– writes a team of researchers in their article.

This region includes one of the most famous Neanderthal sites, Shanidar Cave, where the remains of ten Neanderthals were discovered, including the famous flower burial. Such discoveries have shown that Neanderthals were much smarter, more creative and more compassionate than we first thought.

Modeling conducted by Guran and his team based on multiple data sources shows that: The Zagros Mountains are where the most suitable environmental conditions for both species intersect.These include cold climates such as the Palearctic, home of the Neanderthals, as well as the warmer, more vegetated habitats of the Afrotropical region, where our own species emerged.

In this diagram, the habitats of Neanderthals are shown in blue, and the habitats of our species, modern humans, are shown in green. The red color is the common areas where habitats overlap, allowing both species to interact and interbreed / Photo: Saman H. Guran/Scientific Reports

Scientists say that multiple waves of interbreeding with Neanderthals are still recorded in our genes, and that with some methods we can roughly date the time of each. For example, the second wave of interbreeding falls between roughly 120,000 and 80,000 years ago.

Because of its high biodiversity, the Zagros region also had sufficient resources to allow both species to coexist, and the diversity of habitats provided security when climatic conditions became unfavourable.

The border areas of the two kingdoms are important in biology because they serve as a refuge for species arriving from glacial environments.
– scientists explain.

Perhaps such changes in climate conditions brought the two species closer together, increasing their interactions.

A single 65,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth associated with a collection of stone tools supports the team’s ecological modeling, placing Neanderthals in the right place at the right time. What’s more, previous studies have found similarities in facial features between Neanderthals and modern humans in the region.

Interestingly, while we have ample evidence of Neanderthal DNA in humans, we have yet to find any examples of modern human DNA in Neanderthals. This may be because Neanderthal DNA samples are not available or because successful gene exchange is rare after 500,000 years of genetic separation between our two species.