Homo sapiens aren’t as unique as we once thought. In fact, only about 1.5 to 7 per cent of our DNA originated in our species alone. Everything else we share with our ancestors and those human species we once coexisted with, including Neanderthals, Denisovans and even some yet-to-be-identified “ghost populations”. This rewrites the story we have told ourselves about our species. We just aren’t that unique.
When our ancestors met these other human species, they didn’t just compete with them: they mated with them. And those encounters left a permanent record in our DNA. In other words, those ancient humans we thought had vanished didn’t necessarily disappear… Some of them are still here inside you.
Read more: How Homo naledi is changing what we know about death
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