A high-coverage Neandertal genome from the Altai Mountains reveals population structure among Neandertals

Abstract

We present a high-quality genome of a ~110,000-y-old male Neandertal from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains. He as well as a ~120,000-y-old Neandertal from the same cave lived in smaller and more isolated groups than later Neandertals in Europe and the ancestors of both individuals mixed with Denisovans. The older Eastern and younger Western Neandertals were as differentiated in terms of the frequencies of genetic variants as the most differentiated present-day human populations worldwide, suggesting that present-day humans exhibit relatively low levels of population differentiation compared to Neandertals. Keywords: Neandertal genome, Denisovans, archaic hominins