EXTINCT, BUT NOT GONE: The ‘Ghost’ of an Unknown Extinct Human Has Been Found in DNA of Modern West Africans. “Similar to how humans and Neanderthals once mated, new research suggests this ancient long-lost species may have once mingled with our ancestors on the African continent. Using whole-genome data from present-day West Africans, scientists have found a small portion of genetic material that appears to come from this mysterious lineage, which is thought to have split off from the human family tree even before Neanderthals.”