Neanderthals bred with humans 100,000 YEARS earlier than first thought, scientists say - as they discover skeleton of five-year-old crossbreed

Neanderthals bred with our human ancestors 100,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to a new study. Experts have discovered that a five–year–old child who lived 140,000 years ago had parents from both species. Their fossil – likely a female – was first unearthed 90 years ago in the Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel in what is now northern Israel. A team from Tel Aviv University and the French Centre for Scientific Research conducted a series of advanced tests on the remaining bones, including a CT scan of the skull. 'Genetic studies over the past decade have shown that these two groups exchanged genes,' said lead author Professor Israel Hershkovitz.