- Interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans is a central fact in human ancestry.
- Early hints of strange ancestry were hard to confirm due to variation in Neanderthal DNA among individuals.
- New analytical techniques have identified evidence of a third lineage, a 'ghost lineage,' that interbred with modern humans before leaving Africa.
- The findings rely on advanced genomic analysis, including recombination and mutation patterns.