A recent study has shown that the two species Homo sapiens and Neanderthals may have imitated each other’s stone tools and jewelry.
At some point in history, modern humans and Neanderthals encountered each other. We know this for certain because scientists have found traces of Neanderthal DNA in some modern humans, along with archaeological evidence supporting this claim. However, the exact timeline of how long these two species coexisted remains an open question.
Now, a study dating archaeological sites in France and Spain reveals that 40,000 years ago, our ancestors cohabited with Neanderthals for a period of nearly 3,000 years.
Previous research by Swedish paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine last week, indicates that people of European descent (and nearly everyone worldwide) have a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA. Our level of interaction with Neanderthals is the focus of many scientific investigations as it may mark a significant moment in our evolutionary history.
Humans and Neanderthals met and cohabited in Europe
Igor Djakovic, a researcher at Leiden University and the lead author of the analysis, stated, “We know that humans and Neanderthals met and cohabited in Europe, but we did not know exactly where this occurred.” “We found many similarities in how the two species created material culture and behavior.”
Djakovic and his team excavated 10 archaeological sites across southwestern, central, Mediterranean France, and northern Spain, discovering artifacts from both Neanderthals and modern human ancestors. They then used models to estimate the range of habitation and infer the earliest and latest dates that these groups could have been present at the sites.
Neanderthals first appeared between 45,343 and 44,248 years ago.
The study estimates that Neanderthal artifacts first appeared between 45,343 and 44,248 years ago, and then disappeared from the region between 39,894 and 39,798 years ago, shortly before their extinction. In contrast, modern humans are estimated to have appeared between 42,653 and 42,269 years ago and never left, indicating an overlap of up to 2,900 years.
Researchers noted that during this “overlapping” period, there were significant signs of “idea exchange” between both humans and Neanderthals. They added that this period witnessed a notable change in “how humans created material culture”, such as decorations and tools. Essentially, artifacts created by Neanderthals began to resemble those made by humans.
Neanderthals effectively assimilated into our gene pool.
Researchers mentioned that while this is not the first time scholars have proposed that modern humans and Neanderthals lived together in Europe during this period, the revised dates provide a narrower timeframe for such an event. This overlap would have allowed ample time for generations of humans and Neanderthals to meet, interbreed, and share tool-making tips.
Djakovic noted that interbreeding with a larger population means that over time, Neanderthals were “effectively assimilated into our gene pool.” “When you combine that with what we now know—that nearly everyone living on Earth has Neanderthal DNA—you can argue that they never truly went extinct, in a sense,” he added.
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Both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens originated from Homo erectus and are closely related evolutionarily. According to the mainstream academic view, modern Homo sapiens all originated from Africa, where they expanded their habitats and displaced indigenous human species in other regions before conquering the entire Earth. The first adversaries our ancestors encountered when they left Africa were the Neanderthals, the dominant species in Europe and Western Asia. Neanderthals stood between 1.6 to 1.7 meters tall, had large heads, broad noses, and prominent brow ridges. A strong male of this species could overpower our best fighters with a single punch. Essentially, this species is very different from ours. Modern humans diverged from Neanderthals between 500,000 to 800,000 years ago. However, they interbred at least twice before Neanderthals went extinct 40,000 years ago. The first instance of contact occurred when Neanderthals had already left Africa hundreds of thousands of years earlier, allowing their immune systems time to adapt to the infectious diseases of the new regions. Archaeological findings indicate that although Neanderthals had larger brains than Homo sapiens, their stone tool-making technology was not as advanced. When they encountered each other, Neanderthals could only produce stone spears and hand axes for close combat, while Homo sapiens had already developed weapons for long-range attacks, such as throwing spears. Therefore, although Neanderthals were physically stronger than Homo sapiens and better at unarmed combat, they were not a match for Homo sapiens in tribal warfare. |
