NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Analysis of a newly sequenced Neanderthal mitochondrial genome indicates that Neanderthals and ancestors of modern humans migrating from Africa might have met earlier than previously assumed.

According to prior work that examined nuclear Neanderthal DNA, the Neanderthal and modern human lineages split between 765,000 years and 550,000 years ago. However, mitochondrial DNA evidence had pointed to a more recent divergence some 400,000 years ago.