Wikipedia: Possible scenarios for the extinction of the Neanderthals are: (1) Neanderthals were a separate species from modern humans, and became extinct (because of climate change or interaction with humans) and were replaced by modern humans moving into their habitat beginning around 80,000 years ago.[87] Competition with humans probably contributed to Neanderthal extinction.[88][89] Jared Diamond has suggested a scenario of violent conflict and displacement.[90] (2) Neanderthals were a contemporary subspecies that bred with modern humans and disappeared through absorption (interbreeding theory). (3) A Campanian ignimbrite volcanic super-eruption around 40,000 years ago, followed by a second one a few thousand years later, has been hypothesised as having contributed to the demise of the Neanderthal, based on evidence from Mezmaiskaya cave in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia [91][92] Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis of a specimen from Mezmaiskaya Cave is radiocarbon dated to be about 29,000 years BP and therefore from one of the latest living Neanderthal individuals. The sequence shows 3.48% divergence from the Feldhofer Neanderthal. Phylogenetic analysis places the two Neanderthals from the Caucasus and western Germany together in a clade that is distinct from modern humans, suggesting that their mtDNA types have not contributed to the modern human mtDNA pool.[44]
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 03:55:27 +0000
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