--- title: Oldest Neanderthal DNA Discovered in Skeleton in Italy description: The molecules are from 130,000 to 170,000 years ago canonical: https://time.com/3818506/neanderthal-dna-oldest/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-11T14:41:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:25.515Z article:section: Science og:title: Oldest Neanderthal DNA Ever Found Is Discovered in Skeleton in Italy og:description: The molecules are from 130,000 to 170,000 years ago og:url: https://time.com/3818506/neanderthal-dna-oldest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Oldest Neanderthal DNA Ever Found Is Discovered in Skeleton in Italy twitter:description: The molecules are from 130,000 to 170,000 years ago twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Oldest Neanderthal DNA Ever Found Is Discovered in Skeleton in Italy ## Video: Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life [Watch (HLS stream): Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7mURxfr4.m3u8) (4:03)  _Published 2014-03-12. Conservationists and scientists have a saying, "extinction is forever." But soon biologists will clone long-gone animals in the hope to redefine that axiom to "DE-extinction is forever."_ by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Apr 11, 2015 2:41 PM UTC by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Apr 11, 2015 2:41 PM UTC Researchers studying a skeleton from a cave in Italy have discovered the oldest Neanderthal DNA ever found. Scientists have dated the molecules to about 130,000 to 170,000 years ago, according to [Live Science](http://www.livescience.com/50458-oldest-neanderthal-dna-found.html). The skeleton was first found in 1993, but a new study evaluating the DNA from a piece of its right shoulder blade suggests that the fossil was a Neanderthal, the closest extinct relative of modern humans. “We have a nearly complete human fossil skeleton to describe and study in detail. It is a dream,” Fabio Di Vincenzo, the study’s co-author, told Live Science. “His morphology offers a rare glimpse on the earliest phase of the evolutionary history of Neanderthals and on one of the most crucial events in human evolution. He can help us better understand when—and, in particular, how—Neanderthals evolved.” \[[_Live Science_](http://www.livescience.com/50458-oldest-neanderthal-dna-found.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3818506/neanderthal-dna-oldest/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3818506/neanderthal-dna-oldest/"},"headline":"Oldest Neanderthal DNA Ever Found Is Discovered in Skeleton in Italy","datePublished":"2015-04-11T14:41:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:59:25.515Z","description":"The molecules are from 130,000 to 170,000 years ago","url":"https://time.com/3818506/neanderthal-dna-oldest/","keywords":["Archaeology","DNA"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Rogers","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/archaeology/","name":"Archaeology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3818506/neanderthal-dna-oldest/","name":"Oldest Neanderthal DNA Ever Found Is Discovered in Skeleton in Italy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life","description":"Conservationists and scientists have a saying, \"extinction is forever.\" But soon biologists will clone long-gone animals in the hope to redefine that axiom to \"DE-extinction is forever.\"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7mURxfr4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-03-12T14:27:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7mURxfr4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3818506/neanderthal-dna-oldest/","duration":"PT4M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3818506/neanderthal-dna-oldest/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```