At a Glance
- New research uses advanced computer simulations to map the previously mysterious 2,000-mile migration route of Neanderthals from Eastern Europe into the Altai Mountains of Siberia.
- The study is the first to apply agent-based modeling to Neanderthals, creating virtual individuals who navigated a reconstructed prehistoric landscape to find the most efficient pathways.
- Simulations identified two key warmer climate periods, Marine Isotope Stage 5e and 3, as the most likely windows for this long-distance migration to have successfully occurred.
- Neanderthals likely followed northern river corridors through the Ural Mountains and southern Siberia, enabling them to complete the surprisingly fast journey in less than two thousand years.
- These simulated routes support existing archaeological and genetic evidence, including Neanderthal-Denisovan interaction, showcasing how computational models can reveal new insights into ancient human history.
New research using advanced computer simulations has charted the likely migration routes of Neanderthals who journeyed from Eastern Europe into Siberia between 120,000 and 60,000 years ago. For decades, the specific paths of this second major Neanderthal expansion have been a mystery due to a sparse archaeological record. A study published in PLOS One now suggests that these ancient relatives followed northern river valleys as natural highways, allowing them to traverse vast and challenging landscapes during warmer climatic periods.
The study is the first to apply a technique known as agent-based least-cost path simulation to Neanderthals. Researchers created digital “agents,” or virtual Neanderthals, programmed to find the easiest possible route across a reconstructed prehistoric landscape. To determine the “cost” of travel, the model factored in obstacles like the Ural Mountains and major rivers, as well as the location of glaciers. The simulation calculated the most efficient paths by having the agents navigate this complex terrain, effectively revealing the routes that would have required the least energy and time.
The models identified two key windows when this long-distance migration was most feasible: Marine Isotope Stage 5e, a warm interglacial period beginning around 125,000 years ago, and Marine Isotope Stage 3, a milder spell that started about 60,000 years ago. Marine Isotope Stages are global climate periods identified from ocean sediment cores. The simulation showed that during these warmer times, Neanderthals could have traveled the approximately 2,000 miles from the Caucasus Mountains to the Altai Mountains of Siberia in less than 2,000 years. This later timeframe aligns directly with archaeological evidence from Neanderthal sites in the Altai, such as Chagyrskaya and Okladnikov Caves.
These findings not only solve a long-standing puzzle about Neanderthal mobility but also highlight the surprising connectivity of northern Eurasia during the Late Pleistocene. The simulated routes also pass through territory known to have been occupied by Denisovans, another archaic human group, supporting genetic evidence of interbreeding between the two species. “Others have speculated on the possibility of this kind of fast, long-distance migration based on genetic data, but this has been difficult to substantiate due to limited archaeological evidence in the region,” said Radu Iovita, an associate professor at New York University. “Based on detailed computer simulations, it appears this migration was a near-inevitable outcome of landscape conditions during past warm climatic periods.”
References
- Coco, E., & Iovita, R. (2025). Agent-based simulations reveal the possibility of multiple rapid northern routes for the second Neanderthal dispersal from Western to Eastern Eurasia. PLOS One, 20(6), e0325693. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0325693
- Devitt, J. & New York University. (2025, June 9). Anthropologists map Neanderthals’ long and winding roads across Europe and Eurasia. Phys.Org; New York University. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-anthropologists-neanderthals-roads-europe-eurasia.html
