A new study from an international team that includes Binghamton University, State University of New York, has suggested that Neanderthals may have seen a dramatic loss of genetic diversity, leading to their eventual extinction. The study was titled Semicircular canals shed light on bottleneck events in the evolution of the Neanderthal clade and published in the journal Nature Communications.
It measured the morphological diversity in the ear canals in two “exceptional” collections of human fossils in Spain and Croatia, along with those from various sites in Europe and Asia.
“The development of the inner ear structures is known to be under very tight genetic control, since they are fully formed at the time of birth,” said Binghamton University Professor of Anthropology Rolf Quam who co-authored the study. “This makes variation in the semicircular canals an ideal proxy for studying evolutionary relationships between species in the past since any differences between fossil specimens reflect underlying genetic differences. The present study represents a novel approach to estimating genetic diversity within Neandertal populations.”
The fossils of Atapuerca, known as “pre-Neanderthals” were dated to around 400,000 years ago. They represent what are considered to be clear ancestors of Neanderthals. The species emerged around 250,000 years ago from the populations which lived in the Eurasian continent between 500,000 and 250,000 years ago.
In Krapina in Croatia, the most complete collection of early Neanderthal have been uncovered, dating back nearly 130,000 years ago. The research team calculated the amount of morphological diversity of the semicircular canals of both samples and compared them with each other as well as samples of “classic” Neanderthals of different ages and geographic origins.
“It is exciting to be included in this research project which relies on some of the latest cutting-edge methodologies in our field,” said graduate student Brian Keeling, another co-author of the study. “As a student of human evolution, I am always amazed at research that pushes the boundaries of our knowledge.”
Stay tuned to EyeOnLondon for the latest news and expert opinions.
Follow us on:
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest videos and updates!
We value your thoughts! Share your feedback and help us make EyeOnLondon even better!
