Neanderthals thrived on Earth for 200,000 years, living in Central Asia, throughout Europe, and into the Middle East. Around 40,000 years ago they mysteriously vanished. Their demise has been the subject of scientific debate (climate change, humans, and inbreeding have all been flagged as possible causes), but a new study published in Nature suggests at least one population of our archaic cousins was doing quite well, right up until the end.
The study, which focuses on a population of Neanderthals living in the Meuse River basin straddling Germany and Belgium, included DNA from 27 individuals that lived around 50,000 years ago. An international team of evolutionary anthropologists, geneticists, and computational biologists examined the sequences for signs of inbreeding and determined they were genetically healthy (unlike other populations).
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A look at their mitochondrial DNA, passed down through the matrilineal line, showed that they had female ancestors in common and were part of a larger group endemic to the region. However, they also found evidence of at least one other matrilineal group. An analysis of the Y chromosomes from three males showed they were descended from distinct male ancestors. The team also discovered a group of females, juvenile males, and a newborn baby who were living in the same area but weren’t genetically related.
Taken together the results paint a picture of a close-knit population that still showed signs of gene flow with outside groups. “It seems that Western Europe at this time was a good place to be a Neanderthal,” study co-author Benjamin Peter of the University of California, Los Angeles said in a statement.
So what killed the population off?
According to Peters it may have been a climate shift, competition from humans, or some combination, just like the rest of the Neanderthals. Genetic diversity may provide a more extensive toolkit for weathering changing environments, but it’s not a panacea.
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Lead image: VectorMine / Adobe Stock
