By Bob Walsh
Genetic analysis of remains found in a cave near Ranis in
Germany have revealed that modern humans (homo sapiens) were hanging
out in the area much earlier than was thought for so far north. It was
previously believed that the remains and artifacts found 8 meters down
in the cave were probably made by Neanderthals.
According
to Jean-Jacques Hublin, the emeritus director of the Max Planck
Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, this discovery
fundamentally changes our previous knowledge of the dispersal of modern
humans across Europe. This also strongly indicates that Homo Sapiens
and Neanderthal coexisted and interbred earlier than thought, leaving
almost all modern humans with a touch of Neanderthal DNA.
The
stone tools found in the cave are similar to others found hither and
yon and previously thought to be Neanderthal in origin.
The cave was originally excavated minimally in the 1930s and much more extensively from 2016 thru 2022.
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