Neanderthal Genome Sharpens the Picture of Altai Isolation

Genetic evidence from a 110,000-year-old Neanderthal bone fragment is sharpening the picture of how small and persistent Altai populations may have been. The specimen, known as D17, was recovered from Denisova Cave and compared with D5, a female Neanderthal from the same site who lived roughly 10,000 years earlier.

The comparison did not identify D5 as a direct ancestor. Instead, it showed that the two individuals belonged to related lineages linked by a more distant common ancestor. That finding points to a long-term Neanderthal presence across the wider Altai landscape rather than a single continuous group occupying one cave.

Just as striking is the degree of isolation revealed by the genomes. The Altai communities appear to have been tiny, heavily inbred populations, with some parental relationships as close as first cousins. The study therefore suggests that Neanderthals were capable of surviving for long periods under extreme demographic pressure while also diverging relatively quickly from western Eurasian groups.