Human evolution: Neanderthals absorbed (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, February 04, 2021, 15:08 (1386 days ago) @ David Turell

We didn't wipe them out, we simply interbred, a new approach:

https://gizmodo.com/more-evidence-that-neanderthals-were-absorbed-by-huma-1846173050

:Prehistoric teeth found over 100 years ago are some of the best evidence yet for hybridized communities of Neanderthals and modern humans.

"We know that Neanderthals and early modern humans interbred—our DNA tells us so—but fossil evidence in this regard is surprisingly lacking. Hence the importance of the new research paper, published today in the Journal of Human Evolution.

"The evidence consists of prehistoric teeth recovered from the La Cotte de St. Brelade cave site in Jersey, an island located in the English Channel, in 1910 and 1911. The teeth, belonging to two individuals, exhibit characteristics consistent with interbreeding, pointing to the presence of hybridized populations.

"There is now “considerable DNA evidence that interbreeding happened, both from fossils and modern genomes,” Chris Stringer, a co-author of the new study and an archaeologist at the Natural History Museum in London, explained in an email. Indeed, most people with recent ancestry from outside of Africa have around 2% Neanderthal DNA in their genomes. That said, archaeologists “still don’t know the exact circumstances, nor how much this was a blending absorption of the Neanderthals into expanding modern human populations,” added Stringer.

"That communities of mixed ancestry existed during the Middle Paleolithic, some 48,000 years ago, is potential evidence that “extinction” is probably not the best word to describe the fate of Neanderthals. Instead, these hominins, and their DNA, were absorbed by the increasingly dominant newcomers to Europe: modern humans (Homo sapiens).

***

"The remaining 11 teeth, it was determined, belonged not to one but two individuals. Importantly, the teeth exhibited signs of hybridization.

“We find the same unusual combinations of Neanderthal and modern human traits in the teeth of both identified Neanderthal individuals,” said Stringer. “We consider this the strongest direct evidence yet found in fossils, although we don’t yet have DNA evidence to back this up. In summary, the tooth roots look very Neanderthal, whereas the neck and crowns of the teeth look much more like those of modern humans.”

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"Recent dating of sediments at the site suggests the teeth are approximately 48,000 years old, which places them roughly 8,000 years prior to the extinction of the Neanderthals. These archaic humans emerged some 400,000 years ago, and their remains have been found all across Eurasia. The finds at La Cotte de St. Brelade, therefore, are from a late stage of the species. Indeed, this was a critical time in human history, as early modern humans were spreading across Europe and breeding with Neanderthals.

"The reasons for Neanderthal extinction remain unclear, but going theories include violent conflict with modern humans, disease, climate change (and an inability to adapt), and, as mentioned, interbreeding. That Neanderthals were absorbed into our species seems an increasingly plausible explanation."

Comment: makes lots of sense.