The way your skin reacts to sunlight could reveal something unexpected about your ancestry: Traces of Neanderthal DNA

Our lineage is becoming much clearer as science progresses.

Over the past century, scientists have been working diligently to find the missing pieces in our family tree. As our archaeological prowess improves, new findings are being made that explain how and what we came to be. Everything from the way your skin reacts to sunlight to how your body ages is being studied.

How would you feel about knowing your DNA comes from Neanderthals?

How ancient romances are shaping a fresh narrative of human history

Through our scientific prowess, we have developed and expanded our human family tree from a straight line running from ape to man into something far more complex.

Recent findings of ancient fossils, like the Lucy discovery, have pushed our origin story back by millions of years.

And through the first decoding of Neanderthal DNA, we now know that genetics has added several unknown branches to our family tree. Science has proven that our ancestors did not replace Neanderthals, but we actually mated with them.

Our human line of history is far more complex than we thought for decades.

Human DNA: A mixture of history that is unfolding in modern society

In 2022, researchers in England used mathematical algorithms to map the genetic relationships of both our ancestors and modern-day humans.

They traced specific DNA back over 2 million years and revealed that we “borrowed” traits from other notable branches in the human family tree. Everything from the pigment in our skin, which can come in a rainbow of colors, to the way we process certain types of food can now be explained.

Science has proven that roughly 2 million years ago, several of our ancient cousins lived at the same time in Africa before the great migration into Europe.

Homosapiens emerged from Africa, and we now understand that at least four different types of human-like species lived side by side in the Cradle of Humanity. Recent discoveries of fossils in Morocco have proven this to be true.

Interbreeding between our ancestors created a unique mixture of DNA that we now understand may affect how your skin reacts to sunlight. A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute has found a connection in our DNA to Neanderthals.

We needed Neanderthal DNA to survive, leading to a unique trait

Through the remarkable findings made by the Max Planck Institute, we now understand that your DNA may influence how your skin reacts to sunlight. More specifically, how our evolutionary adaptation to sunlight developed.

Million-year-old fossils have reshaped how we see our family tree.

Early humans discovered that Neanderthals were already walking around Eurasia when they made their great migration out of Africa. Researchers found that Neanderthals had already adapted to the more varied ultraviolet light in Eurasia.

What they have only recently found is that as our Homosaapien cousins mated with Neanderthals, the unique trait of how skin reacts to UV light was passed on to their children. The team found that these gene variants contributed to lighter or darker skin tones, and even eye and hair color.

Your suntan may have come from an ancient lineage

The ancient gene flow from Neanderthals is continuing to affect humans in modern-day society.

If you are one of the many who suffer when heading down to the beach and getting a tan, you can likely trace this trait back to your Neanderthal DNA. The long-hidden DNA may also affect a wide range of human characteristics, like how our brains switch off to sleep and the manner in which we age.

How does knowing the fact that you may have some tiny Neanderthal DNA affect you and your family?