Here is an illustration of a face of the earliest modern humans to migrate from Africa to Europe

Sandra Jacob | Max-Planck Institute | March 27, 2025

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A new study published [December 12, 2024] in Nature analyzed the nuclear genomes of the thirteen specimens from Ranis [in Germany] and found that they represented at least six individuals. … ”To our surprise, we discovered a fifth- or sixth-degree genetic relationship between Zlatý kůň and two individuals from Ranis.” says Arev Sümer, lead author of the study, ”This means that Zlatý kůň was genetically part of the extended family of Ranis and likely also made LRJ-type tools”.

Illustration of Zlatý kůň. Credit: Tom Björklund for Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

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[S]ince all present-day non-African populations share this Neandertal ancestry with Zlatý kůň and Ranis, this means that around 45,000 to 49,000 years ago, a coherent ancestral non-African population must still have existed.

“These results provide us with a deeper understanding of the earliest pioneers that settled in Europe,” says Johannes Krause, senior author of the study. “They also indicate that any modern human remains found outside Africa that are older than 50,000 years could not have been part of the common non-African population that interbred with Neanderthals and is now found across much of the world.”