Far from wiping out Neanderthals overnight, the ancestors of present-day humans rubbed along with their stockier cousins for thousands of years, plenty of time for the two groups to share ideas - and have sex.
The most accurate estimate yet of the time of the demise of our closest relatives, published this week by Oxford University, is derived from the use of new technology and shows that Homo neanderthalensis co-existed with Homo sapiens in Europe for between 2600 and 5400 years before disappearing about 40000 years ago.
"Our results suggest there was a mosaic of populations," said lead researcher Tom Higham. Recent studies have suggested that between 1.5% and 2.1% of the DNA of modern non-African humans originates from Neanderthals.
"In a way, our close cousins, as the Neanderthals are, aren't extinct," said Higham. "They carry on in us today."
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