What is Neanderthal DNA and how does it relate to us today? Keep reading to learn more about Neanderthal DNA.
When you take a DNA test, you’re likely looking to find relatives from the past few generations. But what about dozens of generations ago? At some point, you’ll get back to some very distant ancestors, some of which include Neanderthals.
What is Neanderthal DNA?
Neanderthal DNA is a type of ancient DNA that is found in Neanderthals. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) are one of the three kinds of well-characterized species of ancient humans that are now extinct. Neanderthals evolved from a common ancestor of modern humans (Homo sapiens) about 500,000 years ago, likely in Eurasia and Asia. It’s thought that Neanderthals interbred with modern humans around 60,000 years ago when modern humans began to spread into Asia. European and Asian people have the greatest remnant of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes, while people with strictly African ancestry have less.
Known Neanderthal range in Europe (blue), Southwest Asia (orange), Uzbekistan (green), and the Altai mountains (violet), as inferred by their skeletal remains (not stone tools). Image created by Nilenbert, Nicolas Perrault III, available on Wikimedia Commons. GNU Free Documentation License.
It has been an ongoing goal of many scientists to determine how much, if any, interbreeding occurred between Homo sapiens and the Neanderthal. In 2010 the first Neanderthal DNA became available from ancient remains. This was compared to modern human DNA, and it was found that humans and Neanderthals actually do have DNA in common—enough to know that most humans have a direct-line Neanderthal ancestor. Now, he might be your 2,000th great-grandparent, but he is there.
What does it mean if you have Neanderthal DNA?
Reconstructed head of of an adult Neanderthal male who lived around 70,000 years ago. The remains were found in Shanidar Cave in present-day Iraq. It is on display in the Hall of Human Origins in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Photo by Tim Evanson. CC BY-SA 2.0
In an article from the National History Museum, Professor Chris Stringer says that most people with non-African origin have about 2% Neanderthal DNA. Some Neanderthal traits that can be found in people today include thicker hair and stronger immune systems, which likely emerged to adapt to colder climates as Neanderthals migrated into Eurasia, but also susceptibility to diseases such as diabetes, lupus, and Crohn’s disease.
23andMe and FamilyTreeDNA are the two testing companies where you may see Neanderthal DNA in your results, which means you have inherited some Neanderthal traits. 23andMe reports how much Neanderthal DNA you have with their Neanderthal Ancestry Report. They’ll compare your DNA to over 2,800 Neanderthal DNA markers. FamilyTreeDNA is the only testing company that offers mtDNA and YDNA testing. Both of these tests analyze DNA that goes back much further than autosomal DNA, and can give you haplogroup information and migration patterns.
Looking at your Neanderthal DNA may have you thinking about your ethnicity and your deeper ancestral heritage. To explore how these ancestral places relate to you, check out our FREE ethnicity guide.
Editor’s note: This blog post was originally published in April 2019 and was significantly updated in June 2024.
