Today Europe is home to almost 750 million people. Yet when Homo sapiens first made it here around 45,000 - 50,000 years ago, the continent was occupied by another species of human: the Neanderthals.
After they arrived, modern humans flourished—decorating caves with symbolic art, and carving Venus figurines. But at the same time the Neanderthal population started declining, and by around 40,000 years ago they were extinct.
Now extraordinary new genetic analyses reveal that around six billion people worldwide possess some Neanderthal DNA.
42,000–40,000 years ago:
The earliest carved Venus figurines appear. Germany’s 35,000 year-old Venus of Hohle Fels is the oldest depiction of a human ever found.
40,000 years ago:
The Neanderthals, our closest evolutionary relatives, become extinct across their known home territories in Asia and Europe.
