Learn how teeth from a Polish cave not only reveal family ties but also hint at Neanderthal lineages across Europe.

Bacteria, the earliest life on Earth, evolved around 4 billion years ago, with the first fossilized traces dating back 3.5 billion years to 3.7 billion years. But fossils alone only hint at the past.

When Neandertals were first discovered nearly 170 years ago, the conceptual gap between their lineage and that of modern humans seemed vast. Initially scientists prejudicially believed that the ...