They walked over 3,000 kilometers through wild terrain and bitter winds—without maps, compasses, or even shoes. Now we finally know how they did it.
Key Points at a Glance
- Neanderthals likely migrated from Eastern Europe to Siberia within 2,000 years
- New computer simulations reveal natural river corridors enabled rapid movement
- Study bridges gaps left by sparse archaeological evidence
- Routes intersect with known Denisovan sites, supporting theories of interbreeding
When most of us think about Neanderthals, we imagine isolated tribes clinging to survival in cold caves. But new research suggests a different picture—one of astonishing mobility, ambition, and adaptability. Thanks to groundbreaking computer simulations led by anthropologists from NYU and Portugal’s University of Algarve, we now have a plausible map of how Neanderthals moved across vast landscapes, from the Caucasus Mountains to the Altai region of Siberia, in just 2,000 years.
Their journeys were long and winding—but not random. Instead, they followed nature’s highways: rivers.
The study, published in PLOS One, reimagines Neanderthal dispersal not as a slow creep but as a surprisingly swift migration during two ancient warm periods—approximately 125,000 and 60,000 years ago. Using advanced geographic modeling on NYU’s Greene Supercomputer Cluster, researchers Emily Coco and Radu Iovita reconstructed prehistoric landscapes to show where Neanderthals most likely traveled. They factored in topography, glacial barriers, climate data, and the presence of water sources—elements never before synthesized so rigorously for Neanderthal movement.
“Despite formidable obstacles like mountain ranges and large rivers, Neanderthals could have crossed northern Eurasia surprisingly quickly,” explains Coco. The simulations show multiple viable paths converging through the Ural Mountains and southern Siberia—aligning closely with known archaeological sites and genetic evidence of ancient population mixing.
Indeed, this virtual trek supports one of the most tantalizing chapters in human prehistory: the meeting of Neanderthals and Denisovans. Their likely routes intersect with Denisovan territory, and genetic analysis has already revealed traces of interbreeding between the two species. The study adds spatial credibility to what DNA has long hinted.
“We’re seeing the power of computer simulations to fill in massive gaps left by archaeology,” says Iovita. “Where we once saw silence in the record, we now see movement, interaction, and possibility.”
It’s a stark reminder of how dynamic these so-called “archaic humans” really were. While we still debate their capacity for abstract thought or symbolic culture, their ability to traverse and adapt to massive landscapes is now beyond doubt.
In many ways, the Neanderthal journey mirrors our own: driven by curiosity, shaped by climate, guided by geography. And perhaps the most profound revelation is not just how far they went—but how inevitable it now seems, given the paths the Earth itself laid out.
Source: NYU News
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