Tag

Neanderthals

All articles tagged with #neanderthals

science25 days ago•11 min saved

Neanderthals built massive stone rings in a dark French cave 176,000 years ago

Neanderthals formed six structures from snapped stalagmites inside Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France around 176,500 years ago, including two large rings totaling about 2.2 tonnes. The stones were arranged in darkness, with signs of small fires and burnt bone, yet no tools or human remains were found. Dating of stalagmite tips, regrowth, and burnt calcite all agree on the age, placing this activity well before modern humans reached Europe. The purpose of the rings remains unknown, suggesting complex, deep-cave behavior by Neanderthals that challenges assumptions about their cognitive abilities and cave use.

via Space Daily|

#bruniquel-cave #cave-rings #neanderthals

history26 days ago•4 min saved

Neanderthals Built 176,000-Year-Old Underground Walls, Rewriting Prehistoric Intelligence

Dating of France’s Bruniquel Cave confirms Neanderthals built two stacked stone rings around 176,000 years ago by breaking and arranging hundreds of stalagmites, requiring coordinated teamwork and multiple fires in near-darkness. The rings—large and small—weigh about 2.2 tons and comprise 368 feet of stalagmite; uranium-series dating of mineral crusts places the construction long before modern humans in Europe, suggesting advanced social planning and cognitive abilities and possibly serving as shelter, defense, or a gathering space.

via Futura, le média qui explore le monde|

#archaeology #bruniquel-cave #cognition

science28 days ago•12 min saved

Neanderthal DNA Remains in Non-Africans After Thousands of Years of Interbreeding

Genetic evidence shows modern humans and Neanderthals overlapped and interbred long before Neanderthals vanished around 40,000 years ago; non-African populations today carry about 1–4% Neanderthal DNA (East Asians are a bit higher). The main admixture occurred roughly 45,000–49,000 years ago and continued for about 7,000 years, with ‘Neanderthal deserts’ indicating regions where archaic DNA was purged. The Oase man carried 6–9% Neanderthal DNA, illustrating very recent ancestry. Surviving Neanderthal fragments influence immune function, skin, and metabolism, and some variants are linked to disease risk such as severe COVID-19 on chromosome 3. In short, Neanderthals did not vanish from our genome—they left a lasting genetic legacy through interbreeding and natural selection.

via Space Daily|

#admixture #ancient-dna #genetics

anthropology1 month ago•45 min saved

Neanderthal pelvis reshapes the birth-walk debate

A CT-based study of two exceptionally preserved Neanderthal pelves shows childbirth-related pelvic features closely resemble modern humans, while walking-related traits differ, implying the pelvic evolution was driven more by birth and pelvic floor stability than a simple trade-off with locomotion and challenging the long-standing obstetrical dilemma hypothesis.

via Archaeology News Online Magazine|

#anthropology #childbirth #evolution

world1 month ago•15 min saved

Neanderthals ventured into ancient Saudi Arabia as lakes dotted the desert 55,000 years ago

A study using stone-flake analysis and luminosity dating of sites near Jubbah in the Nefud Desert places Neanderthal occupation in present-day Saudi Arabia around 55,000 years ago, suggesting a much wider and more adaptable range into Arabia as wetter, greener conditions prevailed; there are no bones or DNA found, so conclusions rely on artefact morphology and statistical comparisons to other sites.

via The Times of India|

#arabia #archaeology #jebel-katefeh

science1 month ago•168 min saved

Neanderthals ventured into southern Arabia 55,000 years ago, expanding their range

A study of stone tools from JKF-1 beside an ancient lake near Jubbah, Saudi Arabia, suggests Neanderthals inhabited the Arabian interior about 55,000 years ago—far south of where they were previously thought to live. By analyzing hundreds of tool flakes and comparing them to Neanderthal and Homo sapiens patterns, and dating the sediments with optically stimulated luminescence, researchers find evidence that Neanderthals made the JKF-1 tools. The date corresponds to a wetter period with a refilling lake, which could have drawn Neanderthals into the desert interior. No Neanderthal bones have been found in Arabia, so the evidence remains indirect and subject to further confirmation.

via Live Science|

#archaeology #neanderthals #quaternarysciencereviews

science1 month ago•54 min saved

Ancient Neanderthal gene variant boosts muscle growth in a subset of people

A Cell study shows a Neanderthal variant of the growth hormone receptor entered the modern human gene pool about 47,000 years ago, boosting how cells respond to growth hormone. People with one copy may gain around 270 grams of extra muscle per copy, while two copies could add over 0.5 kg (about 1.2 pounds). The variant now appears in roughly 10% of people, with higher frequencies in Southern and Southeast Asian populations and little to none in those of African ancestry. It may also subtly affect jaw shape and tooth roots, and effects seem to emerge during puberty when growth hormone rises, indicating it's not the sole reason Neanderthals were robust but a piece of the puzzle.

via Yahoo|

#gene-variant #growth-hormone-receptor #interbreeding

science1 month ago•166 min saved

Neanderthal muscle-boosting gene shows up in some modern humans, but it's rare

Researchers report a Neanderthal variant of the growth hormone receptor gene that enhances how modern humans respond to growth hormone. Interbreeding occurred roughly 47,000 years ago, and the variant now appears in about 10% of people (up to ~25% in certain Asian populations) with little presence in Africans. In lab tests, cells bearing the Neanderthal receptor multiplied ~40% more when exposed to growth hormone, translating to roughly 270 grams of extra muscle per copy (more than a kilogram with two copies). The effect seems to emerge mainly during puberty and is a subtle contributor to body form, not a sole explanation for Neanderthal robustness.

via Live Science|

#genevariant #growthhormonereceptor #interbreeding

science2 months ago•11 min saved

Humans Carry About 1% DNA From a Mystery Ancient Lineage

A TRACE-based analysis of 503 genomes found about 0.5–1.1% of human DNA from a mysterious, unsequenced archaic lineage—present across populations including Africans and Oceanians—suggesting ancient interbreeding beyond Neanderthals and Denisovans, though the exact identity of this ghost lineage remains unknown.

via ZME Science|

#ancestral-recombination-graphs #denisovans #ghost-ancestry

archaeology2 months ago•137 min saved

Ancient Neanderthals Crafted Crystal Scrapers, Revealing an Eye for Beauty

Archaeologists at Abri des Merveilles in Dordogne, France uncovered Neanderthal rock crystal scrapers dating roughly 45,000–80,000 years ago, including a transparent, yellow-tinged tool that may have served as a scraper and point. The find, among a small group of quartz tools made by Neanderthals, suggests they created on-site, displayed discernment in material and form, and possessed an aesthetic sense that challenged early views of Neanderthals as uncreative.

via Live Science|

#abri-des-merveilles #aesthetics #archaeology

science2 months ago•5 min saved

Hidden ancestors revealed in the human genome: ghost lineage and a super-archaic contributor

UC Berkeley researchers identified DNA segments in modern humans that come from two previously unknown ancestral lineages: a 'ghost' lineage that interbred in Africa more than 50,000 years ago and now accounts for about 1% of everyone’s genome, and a 'super-archaic' lineage that split from other hominins around 1.8 million years ago and later mixed with Denisovans in Eurasia, leaving traces in modern DNA. The findings suggest human evolution involved repeated admixture with multiple unknown groups, not just Neanderthals and Denisovans.

via Euronews.com|

#admixture #denisovans #ghost-ancestors

science3 months ago•5 min saved

Neanderthals and Early Humans Shared Culture Across 20,000 Years, New Turkish Cave Finds Hint

A Turkish cave dig at Üçağızlı II shows Neanderthals (from ~77,000 years ago) and early modern humans (from ~59,000 years ago) occupied the site and maintained similar stone tools, hunting practices, and ornamental shells like Columbella rustica for as long as 20,000 years, suggesting regular cultural exchange in the Levant, even though remains weren’t found in the same sediment layer; dating was done via optically stimulated luminescence and the findings were published in PNAS.

via ScienceAlert|

#archaeology #culturalexchange #earlyhumans

science3 months ago•3 min saved

Ancient Neanderthals and Humans Shared Culture Across 20,000 Years

A study of Üçağızlı II Cave in southern Türkiye finds Neanderthals and modern humans cohabiting and sharing cultural practices—tools, hunting strategies, and a symbolic mollusk shell—over more than 20,000 years, suggesting a deep exchange of knowledge during their coexistence in Eurasia.

via Gizmodo|

#archaeology #cultural-exchange #homo-sapiens

science3 months ago•189 min saved

Ancient Turkish cave hints at cultural kinship between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens

Excavations at the Üçağızlı II cave in southern Turkey find Neanderthals and Homo sapiens sharing cultural habits, including similar Mousterian tools, hunting practices, and the transport of Columbella rustica shells found in both species’ layers, suggesting intergroup interaction and long‑standing cultural continuity despite a major migration period; Neanderthals inhabited the site 77,000–59,000 years ago, followed by Homo sapiens 59,000–47,000 years ago, with researchers noting a more complex, locally rooted Mousterian tradition than previously thought.

via CNN|

#columbella-rustica #homo-sapiens #mousterian

archaeology3 months ago•121 min saved

Ancient Neanderthals and Modern Humans Learned Together in Turkey 59,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists analyzing Üçağızlı II Cave on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast found Neanderthals (roughly 77,000–59,000 years ago) and later Homo sapiens (roughly 59,000–47,000 years ago) left strikingly similar hunting strategies, stone-tool technologies, and even shell ornaments, suggesting long-term cultural continuity and likely information exchange between the two groups in the Levant corridor. The findings, published in PNAS, imply that Neanderthals and early modern humans shared cultural practices in the region, rather than undergoing a clear cultural turnover despite biological turnover.

via Live Science|

#archaeology #cultural-continuity #homo-sapiens