When ancient humans interbred, new research shows that the pairings were predominantly male Neanderthals and female Homo sapiens.

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - When Homo sapiens trekked out of Africa, our species encountered Neanderthal populations already inhabiting the vast expanses of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. As the presence of Neanderthal DNA in most present-day people shows,

A preference for pairings between male Neanderthals and female Homo sapiens may answer the question of why there are "Neanderthal deserts" in human chromosomes.

By now, it’s firmly established that modern humans and their Neanderthal relatives met and mated as our ancestors expanded out of Africa, resulting in a substantial amount of Neanderthal DNA scattered throughout our genome. Less widely recognized is that some of the Neanderthal genomes we’ve seen have pieces of modern human DNA as well.

DNA evidence suggests homo sapiens women more often paired with Neanderthal men, helping explain why Neanderthal genes are rare.

The ability to successfully engage in mass hunts may be what allowed ancient Homo Sapiens to thrive.

The 2010 discovery that early humans and Neanderthals once encountered one another and had babies was a scientific bombshell that electrified the field of human origins. Now, geneticists at the University of Pennsylvania say they have a better understanding of the nature of those prehistoric hookups,