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Neanderthals

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Ancient DNA reveals Europe’s Neanderthals collapsed to a single surviving lineage before extinction
archaeology15 days ago

Ancient DNA reveals Europe’s Neanderthals collapsed to a single surviving lineage before extinction

A new study of Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA from sites across Belgium, France, Germany, and Serbia shows that Europe hosted multiple Neanderthal mtDNA lineages until about 65,000 years ago, after which a single southwestern France–origin lineage replaced the others and spread across the continent. This led to reduced genetic diversity among Late Neanderthals and, together with climate pressures, may help explain why Neanderthals in Europe went extinct around 40,000 years ago, though researchers caution that no single cause is responsible.

via Live Science|
#archaeology#europe#genetics
Dirt DNA reshapes the story of human origins
science17 days ago

Dirt DNA reshapes the story of human origins

Sedimentary DNA—DNA preserved in soils and sediments—is revolutionizing how we study human origins, enabling detection of Neanderthal, Denisovan, and early Homo DNA even where bones aren’t found. Since the 2017 breakthrough identifying ancient human DNA in ice-age soils, researchers have used targeted probes to enrich nuclear DNA and shotgun methods to extract DNA from cave sediments, pushing back timelines at sites like Denisova Cave and Baishiya Karst Cave. While mtDNA remains easier to recover and informative about lineages, nuclear DNA offers deeper population history but is rare and data-limited, requiring careful analysis to avoid contamination. Overall, dirt could complement or even replace some fossil work, opening a vast “blue ocean” of information about our past.

via Nature|
#ancientdna#denisovans#humanorigins
Birch Tar: Neanderthals’ Primitive Antibiotic Found on Tools
science21 days ago

Birch Tar: Neanderthals’ Primitive Antibiotic Found on Tools

New research suggests Neanderthals produced birch tar (a process dating back to about 200,000 years ago) and used it as a primitive antiseptic, with lab tests showing the tar killed Staphylococcus aureus while largely sparing E. coli. Dental plaque analyses also indicate Neanderthals sought out medicinal plants like chamomile and yarrow, implying a sophisticated medical culture and care for wounds that could inform modern therapeutics as antibiotic resistance grows.

via ZME Science|
#ancient-medicine#antibiotics#archaeology
Neanderthals chased Europe’s giant elephants across hundreds of kilometres
science25 days ago

Neanderthals chased Europe’s giant elephants across hundreds of kilometres

A new fossil study shows Neanderthals hunted large straight-tusked elephants across Europe in an organized, long-distance pattern, traveling up to about 300 km between sites. Isotope analysis indicates these elephants migrated, while the hunters also consumed plant foods and may have used fire to shape habitats, revealing a more complex Neanderthal ecological footprint than previously thought.

via Yahoo|
#europe#isotope-analysis#migration
Two Neanderthal Kitchens, One Landscape: Distinct Food Traditions Unearthed
science1 month ago

Two Neanderthal Kitchens, One Landscape: Distinct Food Traditions Unearthed

A study of Neanderthal groups at Amud and Kebara caves in northern Israel, living 70,000–50,000 years ago, shows they used similar hunting tools but butchered meat differently: Amud bones were burned and fragmented far more (about 40%) than Kebara bones (about 9%), indicating distinct food-preparation traditions likely passed through social learning and culture, suggesting Neanderthals had organized, tradition-driven subsistence practices as well as social grouping. The research is published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#ancientfood#archaeology#butchery
Ancient Uzbek Micropoints Hint Neanderthals Used Bows 80,000 Years Ago
science1 month ago

Ancient Uzbek Micropoints Hint Neanderthals Used Bows 80,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists in northeastern Uzbekistan uncovered 80,000-year-old micropoint arrowheads at the Obi-Rakhmat rock shelter, potentially the oldest known arrowheads and evidence that Neanderthals or early Homo sapiens used bow-and-arrow technology far earlier than previously thought, pushing back the timeline by about 6,000 years and prompting new questions about early human migration and interactions.

via Indian Defence Review|
#archaeology#bow-and-arrow#micropoints
Listening for Stone-Age Voices: How Humans Learned to Talk
science1 month ago

Listening for Stone-Age Voices: How Humans Learned to Talk

A BBC feature explains how scientists infer what early humans sounded like by examining fossil skulls, vocal‑tract anatomy and brain development, outlining two main theories of language origins (sudden symbolic thought vs gradual evolution) and tracing a timeline from primate vocal capacity 27 million years ago to Cro-Magnon speech ~30,000 years ago, suggesting Neanderthals could have spoken and that Homo sapiens eventually developed a full language-ready system, ending with a note on today’s thousands of languages and their fragility.

via BBC|
#anthropology#evolution#homo-sapiens
Ancient mating bias reshapes modern DNA: Neanderthal men, modern women
science1 month ago

Ancient mating bias reshapes modern DNA: Neanderthal men, modern women

New research from the Tishkoff lab shows that Neanderthal DNA on the human X chromosome is surprisingly scarce, while modern-human DNA is enriched on Neanderthal X chromosomes by about 62% compared with their other chromosomes. This pattern points to sex-biased interbreeding where Neanderthal males mated with anatomically modern human females, shaping the modern genome more through mating dynamics than simple genetic incompatibility. Published in Science, the findings suggest ancient social patterns left a lasting imprint on our DNA and offer new insight into human evolution.

via Earth.com|
#ancient-dna#human-evolution#interbreeding
Sex-biased interbreeding left a lasting Neanderthal DNA pattern in modern humans
anthropology1 month ago

Sex-biased interbreeding left a lasting Neanderthal DNA pattern in modern humans

A genetic analysis comparing Neanderthal genomes with African references shows Neanderthals carried far more modern human DNA on their X chromosome than on other chromosomes, while modern humans have very little Neanderthal DNA on their X. The researchers argue that this pattern results from sex-biased interbreeding—likely Neanderthal males with modern human females—rather than widespread genetic incompatibility. Computer simulations using a mating bias reproduce the observed distribution, suggesting social/partner-choice factors shaped inheritance. The team plans to investigate population structure to determine which sex moved between groups and how cultural practices influenced mating in ancient encounters.

via Archaeology News Online Magazine|
#anthropology#dna#interbreeding
Outsiders Targeted: Neanderthals’ 41,000-Year-Old Cannibalism at Goyet, Belgium
science1 month ago

Outsiders Targeted: Neanderthals’ 41,000-Year-Old Cannibalism at Goyet, Belgium

A decade-long study of Neanderthal bones from Belgium’s Troisième caverne de Goyet reveals selective cannibalism of outsiders, including adult women and children, dating to about 41,000–45,000 years ago. Cut marks and bone processing resemble those used on animal remains, suggesting food consumption rather than ritual activity. Genetic analyses indicate the individuals were outsiders to the local group, pointing to intergroup conflict during a time of Neanderthal decline and Homo sapiens’s increasing presence in the region.

via SciTechDaily|
#belgium#cannibalism#goyet
Male Neanderthals more often paired with human women, new study finds
science1 month ago

Male Neanderthals more often paired with human women, new study finds

A new Science study finds interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans was strongly sex-biased, with mating preferentially between male Neanderthals and female Homo sapiens. This bias helps explain the “Neanderthal deserts” on the human genome, especially the scarcity of Neanderthal DNA on the X chromosome, and why Neanderthal genes are unevenly distributed across non-African populations. Analyzing genomes from African populations with no Neanderthal ancestry and comparing them to Neanderthal genomes, the researchers conclude mate preference best accounts for the pattern, while noting that other evolutionary factors may also have contributed and that future work will explore Neanderthal social structures.

via Live Science|
#genomes#interbreeding#neanderthals
Ancient DNA Reveals Strong Mate Preferences Across Neanderthals and Modern Humans
science1 month ago

Ancient DNA Reveals Strong Mate Preferences Across Neanderthals and Modern Humans

A Science study shows that Neanderthal and modern-human ancestry influenced ancient mating: men with more Neanderthal DNA tended to pair with women with more modern-human DNA, suggesting a strong historical preference that helped shape the Neanderthal DNA in present-day genomes, though whether this reflects attraction or other factors remains uncertain.

via The New York Times|
#genetics#human-evolution#interbreeding