14 DAY TRIAL // A team of researchers writing in the scientific journal PLOS ONE argue that, all things considered, several fossilized remains that were unearthed in northern Italy not very long ago might belong to a human-Neanderthal hybrid.
Despite their admitting that several other tests are needed in order to prove these claims accurate beyond a shadow of a doubt, the scientists are fairly confident that these remains constitute evidence that said species did not shy away from interbreeding.
Should the fossils be proven to come from one such hybrid, the discovery would be the first of its kind, Times of India informs us. Thus, this would be the first human-Neanderthal hybrid ever unearthed by researchers.
The claim that these remains belong to a so-called love child of a Neanderthal and a modern human are based on data collected while analyzing the individual's jaw.
Historical aspects are also said to support this theory, meaning that the jaw, which was discovered in Italy's Monti Lessini region, is believed to date back to a time when both Neanderthals and modern humans inhabited Europe.
“In this light, we can interpret the position of the Mezzena mandible which stands within the modern human shape space, while presenting strong shape similarities with some Neanderthal specimens,” the researchers write in their paper.
“From the morphology of the lower jaw, the face of the Mezzena individual would have looked somehow intermediate between classic Neanderthals, who had a rather receding lower jaw (no chin), and the modern humans, who present a projecting lower jaw with a strongly developed chin,” study co-author Silvana Condemi further elaborated on the matter at hand.
With the help of genetics, the researchers reached the conclusion that this particular specimen's mitochondrial DNA was of a Neanderthal origin.
Given that fact that said DNA is passed on by a mother to her children, it is the scientists' belief that the presumed hybrid was the love child of a male Homo sapiens and a Neanderthal mother.