Overview
- A Max Planck–led study published in Nature on June 24, 2026 analyzed genomes from 27 Neanderthals from ten sites in Belgium and northern France and recovered a high-quality complete genome from a Goyet femur.
- The genomes show the individuals formed a single regional population whose members were more closely related to one another than to other contemporary European Neanderthals.
- Researchers found no signal of progressive genetic deterioration or an increased load of harmful mutations in these late northwest European Neanderthals.
- The team detected no recent ancestry from modern humans in these Neanderthals even though some early Homo sapiens from the same era carry recent Neanderthal DNA, highlighting an asymmetry in gene flow.
- The authors conclude Neanderthal disappearance is likely multi-causal because lower overall diversity still leaves demographic vulnerability possible and because climate shifts and competition with expanding Homo sapiens remain plausible drivers that need more regional study.