A recent study published in the journal Science reveals surprising patterns in interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans, suggesting that the majority of such unions likely involved male Neanderthals mating with female Homo sapiens. This finding supports the notion that there may have been a preference for specific partner types, though it remains unclear if these relationships were consensual.

This research strengthens existing knowledge that our ancestors encountered Neanderthals and engaged in offspring production, a process leading to the presence of Neanderthal DNA in contemporary human genomes. It's been established for more than a decade that certain populations, particularly those outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, carry approximately 2% of Neanderthal DNA, a remnant from mating that occurred between 49,000 and 45,000 years ago, just before the Neanderthals vanished from the archaeological record.

The implications of this study are significant for our understanding of human evolution and the interactions between different hominin species. By shedding light on the mating patterns of early humans with Neanderthals, the research opens up new questions regarding the social dynamics of these encounters and the role of gender in early human interbreeding, providing a more nuanced view of our evolutionary history.