Skip to content

Research highlight: Accurate depiction of uncertainty in ancient DNA research: The case of Neandertal ancestry in Africa

An article in the Journal of Social Archaeology looking at how researchers shaped public perceptions of Neandertal DNA heritage in living people.

1 min read
Cover page of "Accurate depiction of uncertainty in ancient DNA research"

Citation: John Hawks. Journal of Social Archaeology 21: 179–196 https://doi.org/10.1177/1469605321995616

In this article, I look at the origin of a myth: the notion that African people do not have any Neandertal DNA. I review the history of ancient DNA research on Neandertals and press statements to understand how this myth arose, and what the real scientific evidence showed at the time.

Research by John HawksintrogressionNeandertal DNA
John Hawks

John Hawks Twitter

I'm a paleoanthropologist exploring the world of ancient humans and our fossil relatives.


Related Posts

Members Public

Interaction and mixture: big picture and small

From the level of function of a single gene up to the movements of entire populations, our evolution was built from mixture.

Painting from 1883 of stone age dancers feasting around a fire
Members Public

When did human chromosome 2 fuse?

More and more, it looks like this event happened shortly before a million years ago, in the common ancestors of Neandertal, Denisovan, and African ancestral humans.

When did human chromosome 2 fuse?
Members Public

Climate models, Neandertals, and Denisovans

A new paper on biogeography of Neandertals and Denisovans raises ideas about the interactions of these groups.

A Neandertal-looking person dressed in animal skins lifting a stick and looking at a misty sunrise on snow.