One interpretation of the genetic evidence is that the split of the Neanderthal lineage from the modern human lineage occurred between 440,000 and 270,000 years ago.
It was a long time ago that our ancestors, the Neanderthals, lived on this planet. It was also a long time ago that we started moving away from them and developing in a new manner that would almost completely sever the ties that connected us to them.
