A Yoruban woman dances at a coronation part in southwest Nigeria PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images
People in West Africa carry mysterious genes that may belong to another species of hominin. The finding hints that primitive hominins lingered in Africa until fairly recently.
Our species repeatedly interbred with other hominins, in particular the Neanderthals and a less well-known species called the Denisovans. This happened after some members of our species first left our African homeland, probably within the last 100,000 years. As a result, all non-African people carry some Neanderthal DNA, and some Asian people also have Denisovan DNA…
