Bones of ancient child suggest humans could have interbred with Neanderthals earlier than thought

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Modern humans and Neanderthals were interacting 100,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to researchers who used CT scans and 3D mapping to study the bones of a child they believe was the result of interbreeding between the two distinct groups.

The child, described in a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal L’Anthropologie, was buried in a cave in Israel some 140,000 years ago. Because no ancient DNA was extracted from the fossilized remains, it's impossible to confirm the child's origins, but scientists say microscopic details in the bones indicate the child had traits of both groups .

When the bones were first excavated from Skhul Cave in northern Israel in 1931, archaeologists recognized that the child belonged to neither H