🦴 A Crimean Neanderthal linked to Siberia

A tiny bone from the Starosele cave in Crimea turned out to be Neanderthal and about 45,000 years old. Collagen “fingerprinting” and mtDNA show this individual is closest to Altai (Siberian) Neanderthals — roughly 3,000 km away — hinting at long-distance links.

Stone tools at Starosele also match the Micoquian tradition seen across these regions, and climate models point to a northern corridor that would have eased movement during warmer phases.

Takeaway: Late Neanderthals were connected across Eurasia — by genes, tools, and favorable climate windows — not isolated in small local pockets.

Source: Pigott et al., 2025. A new late Neanderthal from Crimea reveals long-distance connections across Eurasia.