Photo: Skull Changes Show Time of Human-Neandertal Split

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Neandertals—portrayed above around 30,000 B.C.—diverged from humans between 300,000 to 400,000 years ago, according to the first estimate of the split based on physical features of modern humans.

The study dovetails with findings based on the fossil record, which show that human anatomy started to change in Africa and Europe around the same time, experts say.

Illustration by Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

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