Central Asia, southern Siberia and Mongolia

This chapter covers the appearance of our species in Central Asia, southern Siberia and Mongolia between 48,000 and 42,000 years ago. The main adaptations were warm, wind-proof clothing made from hides, the ability to hunt migratory animals such as horse and gazelle, and to form effective social networks over several hundreds of kilometres. Our species likely also interbred to some extent with indigenous Neandertals and Denisovans, both of which were extinct by 40,000 years ago.