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France Media AgencyMay 30, 2019 10:39:58 IST
According to one study, a slight reduction in the fertility rate of young Neanderthals over a period of several thousand years could explain the extinction of the ancient human species. Posted in PLOS ONE Wednesday.
Our closest human relatives lived in Europe about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. Their disappearance coincided with the arrival of Homo sapiens on the continent.
But the reasons for this disappearance remained an enigma: were they mbadacred by our ancestors? Victims of a mbad epidemic? Or did they slowly die in the face of competition for resources from a more skillful species (ours)?
Researchers at the French CNRS have developed a mathematical model simulating Neanderthal extinction scenarios in 10,000 years or less – a chronology in line with the current best estimates obtained by scientists.
Image of representation. Flickr
They created parameters for factors such as survival, migration, and fertility rates based on data from modern hunter-gatherer and great apes groups, as well as available Neanderthal data. from previous paleogenetic studies. This led them to conclude that some Neanderthal extinction hypotheses, such as the increase in infant or adult mortality related to epidemics or war, were unlikely.
"This would result in a disappearance too fast," said Silvana Condemi, an anthropologist at the University of Aix-Marseille and co-author of the study. AFP.
"On the other hand, a very slight decline in the fertility rate of young women is consistent with the known extinction schedule," she said. "This reduction must be minimal, but will be sufficient for a period long enough to cause the disappearance of the Neanderthals."
Maybe the arrival of Homo sapiens subjected Neanderthals to progressive nutritional stresses. "A reduction in food, and therefore calories, is detrimental to pregnancy," said Condemi.
But the authors pointed out that their purpose was not to explain "why" the Neanderthals have disappeared but "how". As long as the fossil record remains scarce, the question of why young Neanderthals have started to have fewer babies will remain a topic of debate.
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