Despite its proximity to other groups of Neanderthals and the era’s modern humans, the lineage of the specimen, dubbed “Thorin,” found by Slimak managed to stay totally isolated from groups of other early beings.

Thorin — nicknamed after a dwarf in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" — is also called the "last Neanderthal" because he may have lived as recently as 42,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have long known that humans and Neanderthals interbred, but where this took place has proven difficult to pinpoint. A new study may have solved the mystery. More than just co-existence Neanderthals and ancient humans co-existed for tens of thousands of years.