Our closest evolutionary cousins, the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), were once spread across Europe and as far east as the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia.
It has been more than 160 years since its inception. NeanderthalWhile fossils were discovered in Europe, very little information is available about the size of groups or social organization of Neanderthal societies.
Accessed by ancient DNA new studyHere is a snapshot from the Neanderthal community.
We show the Neanderthals who lived in the Altai foothills 54,000 years ago. This group consisted of 10 to 20 people. Many of them were closely related – including a father and his young daughter.
The easternmost Neanderthals
The first genetic clues for Neanderthals was discovered 25 years agoA fragment of mitochondrial DNA is taken from the cell nucleus.
Subsequent mitochondrial DNA analyses and genome-wide nucleic data from 18 individuals have outlined the broad strokes in Neanderthal history. This has revealed the existence many genetically distinct groups, between approximately 430,000 years and 40,000 years.
Our new study is unique in that it analyzes ancient DNA from multiple Neanderthals who lived approximately at the same time. These fossils were found in archaeological excavations at Okladnikov Cave (mid-1980s) and Chagyrskaya Cave (since 2007).
These caves were once used as hunting camps by Neanderthals. The remains of animals such as bison and horses are abundant, and more than 80 Neanderthal fossils were also found in Chagyrskaya Cave – one of the largest such collections anywhere in the world.
Both sites include Stone tools that are distinctiveThey bear a striking resemblance with artifacts from Neanderthal sites in central, eastern and eastern Europe.
Family ties
To paint a detailed picture of the genetic makeup and relatedness of these Neanderthals, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA (which is passed down the female line), Y-chromosomes (passed from father to son), and genome-wide data (inherited from both parents) for 17 Neanderthal fossils – the most ever sequenced in a single study.
13 people provided the teeth and bones: two from Okladnikov Cave and 11 from Chagyrskaya Cave. Seven Neanderthals belonged to males and six to females. Eight of the Neanderthals were adults, while five were children or adolescents.
Among them were the remains of a Neanderthal father and his teenage daughter, as well as a pair of second-degree relatives – a young boy and an adult female, perhaps his cousin, aunt, or grandmother.
Although it is close to the site of Denisova Cavewas inhabited as early as 200,000 Years ago by Neanderthals. The Chagyrskaya Neanderthals, and Okladnikov Neanderthals, are closer to European Neanderthals then to the earlier ones at Denisova Cave.
This is consistent with the aforementioned finding. previous genomic studyA Chagyrskaya Neanderthal was identified by the presence of distinct stone tools at Chagyrskaya, Okladnikov Caves. These tools closely resemble those at European Neanderthal sites.
We also found the Chagyrskaya Neanderthals share several heteroplasmies – a special kind of mitochondrial DNA variant that typically persists for less than three generations.
Taken together with the evidence for their close family connections, these indicate the Chagyrskaya Neanderthals must have lived – and died – at around the same time.
The brink of extinction
Our analyses also revealed this Neanderthal community had extremely low genetic diversity – consistent with a group size of just 10 to 20 people.
This is lower than the genetic diversity that was recorded for any ancient or current-day human population and more similar to what is found in endangered species at danger of extinction like mountain gorillas.
However, the Chagyrskaya Neanderthals weren’t a group of hermits. Their mitochondrial DNA diversity was significantly higher than their Y chromosome variety, which could be explained by the predominant female (rather that male) migration within Neanderthal communities.
What were the implications of these migrations? DenisovansDenisova Cave was occupied by a number of people from around 250,000 years ago to about 50,000 years earlier.
The Denisovans, a sister group of Neanderthals, interbred at least one time. This occurred around 100,000 years ago. The birth of a daughterA Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father.
Denisovans may have been present in Denisova Cave around the same time that Neanderthals lived at Chagyrskaya or Okladnikov Caves. However, there was no evidence of Denisovan gene transfer to these Neanderthals during the 20,000 years preceding their death.
Kindred spirits
Numerous lines of evidence have proven that Neanderthals had possessed the ability to fly in recent years. Technical skills, cognitive capabilities Symbolic behaviorAs impressive as the ancients’. Homo sapiens ancestors.
These genetic insights bring a social dimension to the picture. These insights provide rare insight into the close-knit Neanderthal community that eked out an existence at the eastern frontier of its geographic range, just before their species died.
Laurits SkoPostdoctoral research associate Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Richard ‘Bert’ RobertsDirector, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. University of Wollongong
This article has been republished from The ConversationUnder a Creative Commons License Please read the Original article.
