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EAR INFECTIONS: Scientists claim that complications of common childhood illness could have caused the extinction of a mystery
- It is thought that the lack of drugs 40,000 years ago saw the archaic species
- Smaller ears also meant that bacteria clogged in a small space
- This is thought to have led to breathing and hearing problems and pneumonia
According to scientists, ear infections have probably killed Neanderthals, according to scientists who claim to have cracked the mystery surrounding the disappearance of this species.
While antibiotics are taken for granted in the modern world, it is thought that a lack of sophisticated drugs 40,000 years ago saw archaic species suffer from common childhood illness and then perish.
In addition, Neanderthals were more prone to getting an ear infection because they had smaller ears, providing a narrower space for clogging bacteria.
This is thought to have led to breathing and hearing problems and pneumonia.
Neanderthals were more likely to get an ear infection because they had smaller ears, providing a narrower space for clogging bacteria.
According to scientists, ear infections have probably killed Neanderthals, according to scientists who claim to have pierced the age-old mystery of the extinction of the species.
The results, published in Anatomical Record Journal, were obtained by scientists based in New York.
Professor Samuel Márquez of the Downstate University of Health Sciences said: "This may seem far-fetched, but when we first reconstructed the Neanderthal Eustachian tubes, we have discovered that they looked remarkably like those of infants.
"Middle ear infections are almost ubiquitous in infants because the flat angle of an infant's Eustachian tube is likely to retain the otitis media bacteria that cause these infections – the same flat angle that we found in Neanderthals.
In modern times, the Eustachian tube in children begins to lengthen around the age of five and the angle becomes more acute.
While antibiotics are taken for granted in the modern world, it is thought that a lack of sophisticated drugs 40,000 years ago has seen archaic species suffer and perish
This allows the ear to drain, eliminating almost all of these recurring infections beyond early childhood.
But unlike modern humans, the structure of Eustachian tubes in Neanderthal did not change with age, which meant that these chronic ear infections persisted.
Dr. Márquez said: "This is not just the threat of dying from an infection. If you are constantly sick, you will not be as fit and efficient as to compete with your Homo sapien cousins for food and other resources.
"In a survival world of the fittest, it is no wonder that modern man, and not Neanderthal, has prevailed."
Dr. Richard Rosenfeld added, "This new and previously unknown understanding of Neanderthal's middle ear function allows us to draw new conclusions regarding the impact on their health. and their physical form. "
Who were the nuns?
Neanderthals were a close human ancestor who mysteriously died about 50,000 years ago.
The species lived in Africa with the first humans for hundreds of millennia before moving to Europe about 500,000 years ago.
They were then joined by humans who made the same journey over the last 100,000 years.
Neanderthals were a kind cousin of man but not a direct ancestor – the two separate species of a common ancestor – who perished about 50,000 years ago. In the photo, an exhibition of the Neanderthal Museum
These were the original "cavemen", historically considered stupid and brutal compared to modern humans.
However, in recent years, and particularly in the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that we are selling Neanderthals in the open.
More and more evidence suggests a type of "caveman" more sophisticated and multi-talented than anyone would have thought possible.
It now seems likely that Neanderthals buried their dead by thinking of the concept of the afterlife.
In addition, their diet and behavior were surprisingly flexible.
They used body art like pigments and beads, and they were the very first artists. Neanderthal rock art (and symbolism) in Spain has apparently preceded the first modern human art of about 20,000 years ago.
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