Whether modern humans and Neanderthals co-existed and interacted thousands of years ago has been the subject of much debate. A fossil analysis suggests that Neanderthals had already become extinct in the Caucasus region — thought to be one of their final refuges — by the time modern humans arose.

Ron Pinhasi at University College Dublin and his colleagues radiocarbon-dated Neanderthal fossils that they found in caves in the Caucasus region, which served as a corridor for hominids passing from Asia to Europe. The team suggests that Neanderthals vacated the northern Caucasus about 39,000 years ago and the southern Caucasus about 37,000 years ago. Modern humans arose elsewhere between 45,000 and 40,000 years ago, suggesting that the two groups did not co-exist in that part of the world.

J. Hum. Evol. 63, 770–780 (2012)