Overview

• Researchers used computer models to simulate Neanderthal migrations between Eastern Europe and Siberia during two warmer periods roughly 125,000 and 60,000 years ago.
• Simulations demonstrate that river valleys served as natural highways enabling Neanderthals to cover approximately 2,000 miles in under 2,000 years.
• Migratory routes identified in the models follow a northern corridor through the Ural Mountains and southern Siberia, intersecting known archaeological sites.
• The routes would have brought Neanderthals into territories occupied by Denisovans, supporting genetic evidence of interbreeding between the groups.
• The study by Emily Coco and Radu Iovita was published in PLOS One and fills gaps in the archaeological record by illuminating ancient human movement patterns.