A 55,000 year-old skull discovered in northern Israel is shedding light on the migration patterns of our ancestors from Africa to Europe through the Middle-East. It also reveales that before they met in Europe a few thousand years later, Homo Sapiens had sexual intercourse with their Neanderthal counterparts in the eastern Mediterranean. The result is that modern Europeans and Asians have a 2-4% of Neanderthal DNA.

The skull, possibly belonging to a woman was found in western Galilee.  It is one of the oldest remnants ever discovered and it is assumed to be one of the first sentient ancestors who made the daring trip from Africa to the Middle East.

Previous genetic research had estimated that Homo Sapiens and Neanderthalensis had been mixed since, but without any ready proof. The discovery of the skull was characterized as an important piece of the puzzle of human evolution which points to cohabitation between the two sub-species in the Middle-East.

The skull hosted a brain of 1,100ml (compared to the 1,400 of the modern brain) and is reminiscent of the Cro Magnon  skulls with a few extra African characteristics.

The next step for scientists is to try and extract DNA from the skull (which isn’t at all easy) in order to compare it to modern humans and Neanderthals.