One of the newly described Neanderthal groups appears to have never met its neighbors.
Scientists have discovered a new lineage of early humans that emerged about 100,000 years ago. They remained genetically stable until about 50,000 years ago, and had a different genome than Neanderthals found elsewhere on Earth at that time. report In the journal Cell Genomics.
Surprisingly, the newly described Neanderthals lived within walking distance of larger populations. This discovery has the potential to rewrite our knowledge of Neanderthals.
“Until now, there has been talk that there was only one genetically homogeneous Neanderthal population at the time of extinction,” said first author and population geneticist Tarshika Vimala “But now we know that there were at least two populations at that time,” a professor at the University of Copenhagen said in a statement.
New discovery reveals hidden Neanderthal lineage
when Ludovic SlimakWhen Paul Sabatier, a researcher at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the University of Toulouse, first discovered the fossil in 2015, he did not realize its full significance. The archaeologist found the bones in the Grotte Mandrine, a cave system in France. The scientists sapient Fossils were found there and they are still excavating there.
“This is a unique discovery that archaeologists can only dream of making in their lifetimes,” said Ludovic Slimak, a CNRS researcher at Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier. “It is a previously unknown new population that reshuffles the deck on human demographics during the greatest extinction event of our species.”
The genomic discovery makes this discovery particularly significant, and it was almost an afterthought. The team of archaeologists initially thought the fossil, which they named Thorin after the Tolkien character, was a late Neanderthal based on the bone’s position in the sediment.
To determine Torin’s exact age, the team took DNA from his teeth and jaw and compared it to previously analyzed Neanderthal genomes.
Read more: The Fascinating World of Neanderthal Diet, Language, and Other Behaviors
Genetic Differences Could Explain Neanderthal Extinction
Scientists then knew they had found something special. They found that Torin’s DNA was more similar to that of a Neanderthal who lived 100,000 years ago. Basically, his archaeological age and his genetic age didn’t seem to match up.
The researchers explained that the inhabitants of Grote Mandrin remained near their cave homes for about 50,000 years and did not mix with other Neanderthal communities.
The idea that Torin’s community lived about a ten-day walk from the nearest Neanderthal community forced Slimak to re-evaluate what he thought he knew about Neanderthal life. Naked Neanderthal.
If Neanderthal communities were small and isolated, like Torin, this would help explain why they eventually disappeared. Isolation could lead to a lack of genetic diversity, which in turn would have made them more vulnerable to changing climates and new diseases.
“This is probably the missing key to understanding human extinction,” Slimak said.
Read more: The Neanderthal chronology shows that they thrived for 400,000 years and then disappeared.
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Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul worked as a science journalist for more than 20 years, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global science career issues. He started his career in newspapers but transitioned to science magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.
