Vernot, BenjaminZavala, Elena I.Gomez-Olivencia, AsierJacobs, ZenobiaSlon, VivianeMafessoni, FabrizioRomagné, FrédéricPearson, AlicePetr, MartinSala Burgos, Mª Teresa NohemíPablos, AdriánAranburu, ArantzaBermúdez de Castro, José MaríaCarbonell i Roura, EudaldLi, BoKrajcarz, Maciej T.Krivoshapkin, Andrey I.Kolobova, Kseniya A.Kozlikin, Maxim B.Shunkov, Michael V.Derevianko, Anatoly P.Viola, BenceGrote, SteffiEssel, ElenaLópez Herráez, DavidNagel, SarahNickel, BirgitRichter, JuliaSchmidt, AnnaPeter, BenjaminKelso, JanetRoberts, Richard G.Arsuaga, Juan LuisMeyer, Matthias2023-06-172023-06-172021-05-070036-807510.1126/science.abf1667https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8534Environmental DNA can identify the presence of species, even from the distant past. Surveying three cave sites in western Europe and southern Siberia, Vernot et al. identified nuclear DNA and confirmed that it is from the close relatives of anatomically modern humans—Neanderthal and Denisovan individuals. A phylogenetic analysis and modeling show that the DNA in sediment samples from several layers corresponds to previously studied skeletal remains. These results demonstrate that environmental data can be applied to study the population genetics of the extinct Neanderthal and Denisovan lineages, identifying a turnover of Neanderthal populations ∼100,000 years ago.engjournal articlehttps://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf1667https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf1667restricted access569.89Paleontología2416 Paleontología