Far from triumphantly breezing out of Africa, modern humans went extinct many times before going on to populate the world, new studies have revealed.
New research on DNA has revealed a fresh understanding of the contributions of our Neanderthal relatives to our advancement.
While these early European humans were long viewed as a species that ultimately dominated after departing from Africa, recent studies suggest that only humans who interbred with Neanderthals went on to thrive, whereas other lineages eventually became extinct.
In reality, Neanderthal genes may have played a critical role in our success by safeguarding us against new illnesses we had not previously contracted.
Research has pinpointed a specific 48,000-year-old period when early humans mated with Neanderthals after leaving their African origin, following which they went on to expand and inhabit the global world.
Humans had migrated to other continents before this date, but previous populations that had moved from Africa before the interbreeding period had not survived.
Professor Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Germany told siaranutama.biz.idNews that the history of contemporary humans will now have to be revised.
We perceive humans as a significant record of achievements, originating in Africa roughly 60,000 years ago and subsequently settling into various environments to emerge as the most thriving mammal on Earth,” he stated. “Initially, however, we were not successful, as we went extinct multiple times.
For a long time, understanding the evolution of the sole surviving species of humans was based on examining the outlines of fossilized remains of our ancestors from hundreds of thousands of years ago and noting the subtle changes in their anatomy over time.
The remnants of ancient times have been scarce and frequently fragmented, but advancements in techniques for decoding genetic information from very old bones have shed light on our enigmatic history.
The DNA in fossils reveals the history of individuals, their family ties to one another, and their ancestral migrations.
Despite our successful interbreeding with Neanderthals, Europe’s population still had its challenges.
The first modern humans who mated with Neanderthals and coexisted with them went extinct in Europe 40,000 years ago – but not before their offspring had migrated to more distant parts of the world.
It was the ancestors of these early international trailblazers who eventually returned to Europe to colonize it.
The research also offers a fresh perspective on why Neanderthals became extinct shortly after modern humans migrated to Africa. We do not know why this occurred, but the latest evidence redirects us away from theories suggesting that our species led to their extinction through hunting or outcompeting them in a battle of physical or intellectual strength.
…that it supports the view that it was caused by environmental factors.
Mankind and Neanderthals vanish from Europe around this time, he noted,” he said. “If a thriving species such as humans became extinct in the region, it’s not unexpected that another species, with a much smaller population like the Neanderthals, would also become extinct.
The climate fluctuated greatly at that point. It could go from being nearly as warm as it is now to being extremely cold, sometimes within a person’s lifetime, according to Prof Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London, who is independent of the new research.
“It appears that almost at the end of their time on Earth, Neanderthals were extremely scarce in number, much less genetically diverse than their contemporary modern human counterparts, and it’s possible that a relatively minor event or factor may have been enough to drive them to extinction,” he stated.
A separate DNA study published in the journal Science reveals that present-day humans have retained certain essential genetic traits from their Neanderthal ancestors, which may have provided them with an evolutionary advantage.
One aspect pertains to their immune system. As humans migrated out of Africa, they were extremely vulnerable to previously unknown diseases. Interbreeding with Neanderthals provided their offspring with immunity.
Perhaps having Neanderthal DNA contributed to our success because it gave us better adaptability outside of Africa,” said Professor Stringer. “We originally evolved in Africa, while the Neanderthals evolved outside of Africa.
We received an immunity boost to our immune systems as a result of interbreeding with the Neanderthals.
