In a discovery that’s shaking up our understanding of human evolution, scientists have uncovered the world’s oldest evidence of interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals—an ancient child’s skeleton from Skhul Cave in northern Israel, dating back a staggering 140,000 years. This finding, detailed in the peer-reviewed journal L’Anthropologie and announced on August 21, 2025, pushes back the timeline for human-Neanderthal interaction by an astonishing 100,000 years compared to previous evidence.
For decades, the prevailing wisdom among anthropologists was that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, two distinct human groups, only began to mix in meaningful ways about 40,000 years ago, mostly in central Europe. But the bones of a five-year-old child, excavated from Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel nearly a century ago, are now rewriting that story. Using advanced CT scans and 3D mapping, researchers have revealed a blend of physical traits from both groups in the child’s skeleton, suggesting that human-Neanderthal relations began much earlier—and much farther east—than previously thought.
According to Tel Aviv University, the international research team, led by Professor Israel Hershkovitz and Anne Dambricourt-Malassé of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, used cutting-edge micro-CT technology to examine the fossil. They built a virtual 3D model of the child’s skull and jaw, allowing them to analyze features that had been impossible to study before. The scans revealed an intriguing mix: the overall shape of the skull resembles that of Homo sapiens, but the inner ear structure, lower jaw, and the pattern of blood vessels inside the skull are distinctly Neanderthal.
“This discovery reveals the world’s earliest known human fossil showing morphological traits of both of these human groups, which until recently were considered two separate human species,” the research team explained, as quoted by Tel Aviv University. “The current study shows that the five-year-old child’s skeleton is the result of continuous genetic infiltration from the local—and older—Neanderthal population into the Homo sapiens population.”
It’s a remarkable twist for a fossil that’s been under scientists’ noses for nearly 100 years. When the bones were first unearthed from Skhul Cave in 1931, archaeologists couldn’t quite place them. The child didn’t fit the mold of either Homo sapiens, who had migrated from Africa, or Neanderthals, who came from Europe. At the time, they concluded it must be a separate, indigenous species. But with modern technology, researchers have been able to peer inside the ancient skull, examining the fine details of the inner ear and the delicate imprints left by blood vessels—details that are as unique as fingerprints when it comes to distinguishing between human species.
Professor Hershkovitz, speaking to the Associated Press, emphasized the significance of these findings: “What we’re saying now is that there was an extensive relationship between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals that started around 140,000 years ago, and the two groups managed to live side by side with no evidence for hostile encounters.” He added, “Our aggressive behavior, which continues today in our long history, is a recent phenomenon that has cultural roots and not biological roots.”
The discovery doesn’t just push back the timeline; it also challenges long-held assumptions about the nature of these early encounters. For years, popular imagination (and some scientific theories) have painted a picture of violent clashes between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, with the former eventually wiping out the latter in a struggle for survival. But the evidence from Skhul Cave suggests a different story—one of coexistence, shared cultural practices, and even interbreeding. The region, acting as a land bridge between Africa and Eurasia, was a natural crossroads for these groups, and apparently, their interactions were more harmonious than previously believed.
The Skhul Cave itself is a treasure trove for archaeologists. It’s one of three caves in the area that contain some of the world’s oldest intentional burials, dating back to the Paleolithic era, more than 100,000 years ago. Multiple sets of remains have been found at these sites, and some are still being carefully excavated. The burial of the child in Skhul Cave hints at complex social behaviors and rituals, shared or exchanged between the groups.
Yet, as with all good science, the discovery raises as many questions as it answers. Without ancient DNA from the fossilized remains, it’s impossible to definitively confirm the child’s hybrid origins. Pascal Gagneux, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California San Diego who was not involved in the study, told the Associated Press, “Without DNA, it will be impossible to prove that the child was a hybrid human.” Still, he acknowledged that the details revealed by the 3D mapping—including the internal structure of the bones—strongly support the hybrid hypothesis.
Thomas Levy, a professor in cyber-archaeology at the University of California San Diego, praised the study’s use of 3D models, noting that such advances in scientific visualization allow for more accurate measurements and comparisons. “The technology also offers archaeologists a fresh opportunity to review conclusions from objects excavated many years ago,” Levy said, according to the Associated Press.
The study’s findings also dovetail with recent genetic research showing that modern humans today still carry traces of Neanderthal DNA—between 2 to 6 percent, depending on the individual. “Even today, 40,000 years after the last Neanderthals disappeared, part of our genome is of Neanderthal origin,” Hershkovitz explained in the Tel Aviv University release. “But these gene exchanges took place much later, between 60,000 to 40,000 years ago. Here, we are dealing with a human fossil that is 140,000 years old.”
For context, the only other known fossil showing signs of human-Neanderthal interbreeding was the “Lapedo Valley Child” discovered in Portugal, which dates back just 28,000 years—more than 100,000 years after the Skhul child. Traditionally, fossils from Skhul and the nearby Qafzeh Cave had been attributed to early Homo sapiens. The new analysis, however, reveals that at least some of these fossils are the result of “continuous genetic infiltration from the local—and older—Neanderthal population into the Homo sapiens population,” as the study’s authors put it.
So, what does all this mean for our understanding of human evolution? The discovery from Skhul Cave suggests that the boundaries between ancient human species were far more porous than previously imagined. Rather than isolated, antagonistic groups, Homo sapiens and Neanderthals in the ancient Levant appear to have mingled, shared ideas, and even formed families together—long before such interactions were thought possible.
As researchers continue to analyze fossils and harness new technologies, more surprises are likely to emerge from the ancient crossroads of Israel. For now, the Skhul child stands as a powerful reminder that our human story is one of connection, complexity, and, sometimes, unexpected harmony.
