Previous scientific consensus saw human evolution as defined by adaptive differences (behavioural and/or biological) and the emergence of Homo sapiens as the ultimate replacement of non-modern groups by a modern, adaptively more competitive group. However, recent research has shown that the process underlying our origins was considerably more complex. While archaeological and fossil evidence suggests that behavioural complexity may not be confined to the modern human lineage, recent palaeogenomic work shows that gene flow between distinct lineages (for example, Neanderthals, Denisovans, early H. sapiens) occurred repeatedly in the late Pleistocene, probably contributing elements to our genetic make-up that might have been crucial to our success as a diverse, adaptable species. Following these advances, the prevailing human origins model has shifted from one of near-complete replacement to a more nuanced view of partial replacement with considerable reticulation. Here we provide a brief introduction to the current genetic evidence for hybridization among hominins, its prevalence in, and effects on, comparative mammal groups, and especially how it manifests in the skull. We then explore the degree to which cranial variation seen in the fossil record of late Pleistocene hominins from Western Eurasia corresponds with our current genetic and comparative data. We are especially interested in understanding the degree to which skeletal data can reflect admixture. Our findings indicate some correspondence between these different lines of evidence, flag individual fossils as possibly admixed, and suggest that different cranial regions may preserve hybridization signals differentially. We urge further studies of the phenotype to expand our ability to detect the ways in which migration, interaction and genetic exchange have shaped the human past, beyond what is currently visible with the lens of ancient DNA.

先前的科学共识认为，人类进化是由适应性差异（行为和/或生物）定义的，而智人的出现是现代、适应性更强的群体最终取代非现代群体。然而，最近的研究表明，我们起源的过程要复杂得多。虽然考古和化石证据表明行为复杂性可能并不局限于现代人类谱系，但最近的古基因组学研究表明，不同谱系之间的基因流动（例如，尼安德特人、丹尼索瓦人、早期智人）在更新世晚期反复发生，可能对我们的基因构成做出了贡献，这可能对我们作为一个多样化、适应性强的物种的成功至关重要。随着这些进步，流行的人类起源模型已经从接近完全替代的一种转变为具有相当大的网状结构的部分替代的更细致入微的观点。在这里，我们简要介绍了人类之间杂交的当前遗传证据，其在比较哺乳动物群体中的流行和影响，特别是它如何在头骨中表现出来。然后，我们探讨了在欧亚大陆西部晚更新世人类化石记录中看到的颅骨变异与我们目前的遗传和比较数据的对应程度。我们特别感兴趣的是了解骨骼数据可以反映混合的程度。我们的研究结果表明这些不同的证据线之间存在一些对应关系，将单个化石标记为可能混合在一起，并表明不同的颅骨区域可能会以不同的方式保存杂交信号。我们敦促对表型进行进一步研究，以扩大我们检测迁移、相互作用和基因交换如何塑造人类过去的能力，这超出了目前用古代 DNA 的镜头可见的范围。