Neanderthals may have survived longer than thought

NEANDERTHALS may have survived in southern Europe until as recently as 24,000 years ago, making it much more likely that they interacted with the ancestors of people living today.

Stone tools discovered in a cave in Gibraltar suggest that the extinct species lived there until at least 28,000 years ago, and possibly for another 4,000 years.

The evidence indicates that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals co-existed in Europe for several thousand years, considerably longer than had been thought.