Neanderthals in the News

[Ecurb Noselrub]

Neanderthal cave in Gibraltar.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/neanderthals-cave-gibraltar-scn-scli-intl/index.html


[Repaired link. - R]

[Recusant]

Very cool! Thank you, Ecurb Noselrub. 

[Recusant]

There must be a story behind this. Anatomically modern humans (AMH) lived at a cave site in southeastern France for about 40 years, then Neanderthals were back for the next few thousand years. One wonders how did the AMH arrive and why did they leave?

Apparently the finding is partly based on analysis of soot in the cave. I haven't read the paper yet, so I don't know how or if they differentiate between soot from a Neanderthal fire and that from an AMH fire.

"New research suggests modern humans lived in Europe 10,000 years earlier than previously thought, in Neanderthal territories" | The Conversation

Perched about 325 feet (100 meters) up the slopes of the Prealps in southern France, a humble rock shelter looks out over the Rhône River Valley. It's a strategic point on the landscape, as here the Rhône flows through a narrows between two mountain ranges. For millennia, inhabitants of the rock shelter would have had commanding views of herds of animals migrating between the Mediterranean region and the plains of northern Europe, today replaced by TGV trains and up to 180,000 vehicles per day on one of the busiest highways on the continent.

The site, recognized in the 1960s and named Grotte Mandrin after French folk hero Louis Mandrin, has been a valued location for over 100,000 years. The stone artifacts and animal bones left behind by ancient hunter-gatherers from the Paleolithic period were quickly covered by the glacial dust that blew from the north on the famous mistral winds, keeping the remains well preserved.

Since 1990, our research team has been carefully investigating the uppermost 10 feet (3 meters) of sediment on the cave floor. Based on artifacts and tooth fossils, we believe that Mandrin rewrites the consensus story about when modern humans first made their way to Europe.

Human origins researchers have generally agreed that between 300,000 and 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals and their ancestors occupied Europe. From time to time during that period, they had contact with modern humans in the Levant and parts of Asia. Then around 48,000 to 45,000 years ago, modern humans – essentially us – expanded throughout the rest of the world, and Neanderthals and all other archaic humans disappeared.

In the journal Science Advances, we describe our discovery of evidence that modern humans lived 54,000 years ago at Mandrin. That's some 10 millennia earlier than our species was previously thought to be in Europe and over a thousand miles west (1,700 kilometers) from the next-oldest known site, in Bulgaria. And fascinatingly, Neanderthals appear to have used the cave both before and after the modern human occupation.

[Continues . . .]

The paper is open access:

"Modern human incursion into Neanderthal territories 54,000 years ago at Mandrin, France" | Science Advances

Determining the extent of overlap between modern humans and other hominins in Eurasia, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, is fundamental to understanding the nature of their interactions and what led to the disappearance of archaic hominins. Apart from a possible sporadic pulse recorded in Greece during the Middle Pleistocene, the first settlements of modern humans in Europe have been constrained to ~45,000 to 43,000 years ago.

Here, we report hominin fossils from Grotte Mandrin in France that reveal the earliest known presence of modern humans in Europe between 56,800 and 51,700 years ago. This early modern human incursion in the Rhône Valley is associated with technologies unknown in any industry of that age outside Africa or the Levant. Mandrin documents the first alternating occupation of Neanderthals and modern humans, with a modern human fossil and associated Neronian lithic industry found stratigraphically between layers containing Neanderthal remains associated with Mousterian industries.

[Recusant]

This thread has been quiet for some time, but not for as long as the cave described in the article below . . .

"Neanderthals were the world's first artists" | University of Basel

When the French archaeologist Jean-Claude Marquet entered the La Roche-Cotard cave in the Loire Valley for the first time back in 1974, he suspected that the fine lines on the wall could be of human origin. He also found scrapers and other retouched pieces known as Mousterian stone artifacts that suggested the cave had been used by Neanderthals. Were the marks on the wall evidence of early Neanderthal artistic activity?

Posing this question raised the possibility of breaking with the consensus of the time, which largely assumed that Homo neanderthalensis lacked any higher cognitive abilities. Fearing he would be unable to provide sufficient scientific evidence to prove his hypothesis, Marquet left the cave untouched for almost 40 years.

Together with an international team, he made another attempt in 2016. This time he was accompanied by Dr. Dorota Wojtczak from Integrative Prehistoric and Archaeological Science (IPAS) at the Department of Environmental Sciences of the University of Basel, who specializes in archaeological use-wear analysis. "Our task was to use modern methods to prove the human origin of these wall engravings," explains Wojtczak in her office at IPAS. The researchers recently published their findings in the journal PLOS ONE.

First with photos and drawings and later with a 3D scanner, the marks in the tuff rock of the cave wall were meticulously recorded. In her laboratory in Basel, Wojtczak compared these samples from the cave with tuff she had worked on experimentally with wood, bone and stone tools, as well as with her hands. "This research clearly showed that the cave marks were not made with tools, but by scratching with human fingers," says Wojtczak.

At the same time, examination of cave sediment by researchers from Denmark showed that the cave must have been sealed off by mud residues from the Loire and soil sediments for over 50,000 years before being rediscovered. This makes the La Roche-Cotard cave system a very special location – a veritable "time capsule". "At this time, 50,000 years ago, there were no modern humans in Europe, only Neanderthals," says Wojtczak. The wall marks and artifacts can therefore only come from these early humans.

[Continues . . .]

The paper is open access:

"The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France" | PLOS ONE

Abstract:

Here we report on Neanderthal engravings on a cave wall at La Roche-Cotard (LRC) in central France, made more than 57±3 thousand years ago. Following human occupation, the cave was completely sealed by cold-period sediments, which prevented access until its discovery in the 19th century and first excavation in the early 20th century.

The timing of the closure of the cave is based on 50 optically stimulated luminescence ages derived from sediment collected inside and from around the cave. The anthropogenic origin of the spatially-structured, non-figurative marks found within the cave is confirmed using taphonomic, traceological and experimental evidence.

Cave closure occurred significantly before the regional arrival of H. sapiens, and all artefacts from within the cave are typical Mousterian lithics; in Western Europe these are uniquely attributed to H. neanderthalensis. We conclude that the LRC engravings are unambiguous examples of Neanderthal abstract design.

[Tank]

Stone age art and now we have art in concrete

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An apparent connection between Neanderthal-derived genes and susceptibility to autism.

"Study implicates Neanderthal DNA in autism susceptibility" | Clemson News

New collaborative research involving two Clemson University scientists has found that some genetic traits modern humans inherited from Neanderthals could increase a person's susceptibility to autism.

People with autism don't have more Neanderthal DNA than those who do not — most modern humans have an average of around 2-3% Neanderthal DNA.

Instead, the researchers from Clemson and Loyola University New Orleans discovered that some Neanderthal-derived variations are more common in people with autism than in the general population.

"This is the first evidence that I am aware of actually showing that Neanderthal DNA is associated with autism," said Alex Feltus, a professor in the Clemson Department of Genetics and Biochemistry.

The study suggests long-term effects of ancient human hybridization on brain organization and function.

[. . .]

But all people who have these Neanderthal-derived variations will not develop autism, Feltus said.

"The hypothesis is not, 'Did Neanderthals give us autism?' It's that Neanderthals gave us some of the gene tweaks that give a higher susceptibility for autism," he said.

Feltus continued, "Autism is a complex trait. It is controlled by many, many genes. A big part of what we do in my lab is try to understand the level of complexity. Of the 60,000 genes in the human genome, how many genes are at play when you're developing autism or cancer or any other complex trait? We embrace complexity. We don't try to erase complexity."

Feltus said the research could lead to earlier diagnostics.

[Link to full article.]

The paper is open access:

"Enrichment of a subset of Neanderthal polymorphisms in autistic probands and siblings" | Molecular Psychiatry

Abstract:

Homo sapiens and Neanderthals underwent hybridization during the Middle/Upper Paleolithic age, culminating in retention of small amounts of Neanderthal-derived DNA in the modern human genome. In the current study, we address the potential roles Neanderthal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) may be playing in autism susceptibility in samples of black non-Hispanic, white Hispanic, and white non-Hispanic people using data from the Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research (SPARK), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and 1000 Genomes (1000G) databases. We have discovered that rare variants are significantly enriched in autistic probands compared to race-matched controls. In addition, we have identified 25 rare and common SNPs that are significantly enriched in autism on different ethnic backgrounds, some of which show significant clinical associations. We have also identified other SNPs that share more specific genotype-phenotype correlations but which are not necessarily enriched in autism and yet may nevertheless play roles in comorbid phenotype expression (e.g., intellectual disability, epilepsy, and language regression). These results strongly suggest Neanderthal-derived DNA is playing a significant role in autism susceptibility across major populations in the United States.

[zorkan]

I'd like to know why Japanese and other East Asians have more Neandertal genes than in Europe when Neanderthal's stamping ground was Europe and the near East.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/modern-japanese-people-arose-from-3-ancestral-groups-1-of-them-unknown-dna-study-suggests

Japanese also have higher rates of autism.

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Taking care of the poorly little one, not just decrepit adults . . .

"First case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals documented in new study" | Phys.org

A new study published by an international multidisciplinary team of researchers including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, documents the first case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals and reveals that they were capable of providing altruistic care and support for a vulnerable member of their social group.

The research, led by anthropologists at the University of Alcalá and the University of Valencia in Spain, studied the skeletal remains of a Neanderthal child, whom they affectionately named "Tina", found at Cova Negra, a cave in Valencia, Spain long known for yielding important Neanderthal discoveries.

The paper is published in the journal Science Advances.

"The excavations at Cova Negra have been key to understanding the way of life of the Neanderthals along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula and have allowed us to define the occupations of the settlement: of short temporal duration and with a small number of individuals, alternating with the presence of carnivores," said University of Valencia Professor of Prehistory Valentín Villaverde.

The researchers created micro-computed tomography scans of a small cranial fragment of the right temporal bone, containing the ear region, to reconstruct a three-dimensional model for measurement and analysis. Tina suffered from a congenital pathology of the inner ear associated with Down syndrome, which causes severe hearing loss and disabling vertigo. This individual survived to at least 6 years of age, but would have required extensive care from other members of their social group.

[. . .]

Researchers have known for decades that Neanderthals cared for disabled individuals. However, to date, all known cases of social care among Neanderthals involved adult individuals, leading some scientists to discount this as truly altruistic behavior and instead to suggest it more likely represented reciprocal exchange of help between equals.

"What was not known until now was any case of an individual who had received help, even if they could not return the favor, which would prove the existence of true altruism among Neanderthals. That is precisely what the discovery of 'Tina' means," said Mercedes Conde, professor at the University of Alcalá and lead author of the study.

[Continues . . .]

The paper is open access:

"The child who lived: Down syndrome among Neanderthals?" | Science Advances

Abstract:

Caregiving for disabled individuals among Neanderthals has been known for a long time, and there is a debate about the implications of this behavior. Some authors believe that caregiving took place between individuals able to reciprocate the favor, while others argue that caregiving was produced by a feeling of compassion related to other highly adaptive prosocial behaviors. The study of children with severe pathologies is particularly interesting, as children have a very limited possibility to reciprocate the assistance.

We present the case of a Neanderthal child who suffered from a congenital pathology of the inner ear, probably debilitating, and associated with Down syndrome. This child would have required care for at least 6 years, likely necessitating other group members to assist the mother in childcare.

[Tank]

A neanderthal child didn't have to read, write or achieve high SAT scores. They would just be different.

[The Magic Pudding..]

A neanderthal child didn't have to read, write or achieve high SAT scores. They would just be different.

Ye, and Recusant described the child as the " poorly little one"
He deserves to be thrown into the pit of shame with JK Rowling and all the other 21st century monsters.

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Har har, you should be dinging me for "decrepit" as well. Though I do agree that JK Rowling is a shit who should know better.

The fact that the child didn't survive much past 6 years of age and had physical issues that were discernible from the skeletal remains would appear to be an indication of less than optimal health. That's the point of the paper--the child clearly received extraordinary care and otherwise would not have survived even that long. 

[Tank]

Har har, you should be dinging me for "decrepit" as well. Though I do agree that JK Rowling is a shit who should know better.

The fact that the child didn't survive much past 6 years of age and had physical issues that were discernible from the skeletal remains would appear to be an indication of less than optimal health. That's the point of the paper--the child clearly received extraordinary care and otherwise would not have survived even that long. 

Exactly.

[Recusant]

Only tangentially about Neanderthals, mostly about human (including Neanderthal) genetics.

"Modern human DNA contains bits from all over the Neanderthal genome – except the Y chromosome. What happened?" | The Conversation

Neanderthals, the closest cousins of modern humans, lived in parts of Europe and Asia until their extinction some 30,000 years ago.

Genetic studies are revealing ever more about the links between modern humans and these long-gone relatives – most recently that a rush of interbreeding between our species occurred in a relatively short burst of time around 47,000 years ago. But one mystery still remains.

The Homo sapiens genome today contains a little bit of Neanderthal DNA. These genetic traces come from almost every part of the Neanderthal genome – except the Y sex chromosome, which is responsible for making males.

So what happened to the Neanderthal Y chromosome? It could have been lost by accident, or because of mating patterns or inferior function. However, the answer may lie in a century-old theory about the health of interspecies hybrids.

[. . .]

There are lots of little giveaways that mark a DNA sequence as coming from a Neanderthal or a H. sapiens. So we can look for bits of Neanderthal DNA sequence in the genomes of modern humans.

The genomes of all human lineages originating in Europe contain about 2% Neanderthal DNA sequences. Lineages from Asia and India contain even more, while lineages restricted to Africa have none. Some ancient Homo sapiens genomes contained even more – 6% or so – so it looks like the Neanderthal genes are gradually fading out.

Most of this Neanderthal DNA arrived in a 7,000-year period about 47,000 years ago, after modern humans came out of Africa into Europe, and before Neanderthals became extinct about 30,000 years ago. During this time there must have been many pairings between Neanderthals and humans.

At least half of the whole Neanderthal genome can be pieced together from fragments found in the genomes of different contemporary humans. We have our Neanderthal ancestors to thank for traits including red hair, arthritis and resistance to some diseases.

There is one glaring exception. No contemporary humans have been found to harbour any part of the Neanderthal Y chromosome.

[Continues . . .]

Some hypotheses to explain this are presented. In passing it is mentioned that we also inherited no mitochondrial DNA from Neanderthals. This is passed exclusively down the female line so it's of equal interest, in my opinion.

Another article on this topic:

"How Human Y Chromosomes Replaced Those of Neanderthals in a Quiet Genetic Takeover" | Smithsonian

[Tank]

Fascinating.