The human genome carries an average of 1 % to 4 % Neanderthal DNA , which means our ancient human root must have interbred with our extinct evolutionary cousins . That raises an obvious next question : why did humans have sex with Neanderthals ?
That question is n’t mean to be totally glib . The current consensus is that ancient mankind must have reproduced with Neanderthals , as otherwise the non - African genome would n’t feature Neanderthal DNA . But would ancient hunting watch - gatherer club , which were enormously reliant on close cooperation between all its members , really have encouraged breeding with a rival group ? After all , for humans and Neanderthals to have come into middleman , they must have been competing for the same syndicate of resources . Even if these group were n’t outright fighting each other , would they really have been making babies together ?
Researchers C. Michael Barton of Arizona State and Julien Riel - Salvatore of the University of Colorado Denver have put together a new model that traces not just the biological but also the ethnical components of the interaction of humans and Neanderthals . While our genome reveal the biological link between humans and Neanderthals , we do n’t be given to think of how that appendage forge in terms of ancient human companionship , as Barton explicate :
“ How a acculturation ’s working knowledge is passed on is as important as biological information for human evolution . There is a perception that biologic development decide culture during the Pleistocene era and that ethnical influence prevail afterwards ( including today ) . The world is that the two forces have been work together and they were as authoritative 50,000 days ago as they are today . ”
Based on their analysis of 120,000 year of archaeological data , Barton and Riel - Salvatore say the most potential ground for the disappearance of the Neanderthals was simply cross – humans and Neanderthals started interbreeding , and because there were more humans than Neanderthals , human gene dominated over the generation .
But the most interesting part of their research deals with the cultural side of Neanderthal gender . The researchers considered the very real chance that either homo , Neanderthals , or both monish interbreeding . Beyond the fact that the radical were likely vie for resource , there ’s also the possibility that the two groups saw each other as , well , ugly , making thwartwise - species sex a source of shame or even ostracism .
According to their modeling , these social taboos could well have existed 50,000 years ago , and it just would n’t have count . Unless the taboos were nearly 100 % effective in discourage interbreeding — and I ’m not certain any taboo in human account has ever been anywhere near 100 % in force — then humans and Neanderthals would have had more than enough sexual practice to account for our current genetic hereditary pattern . According to Riel - Salvatore , this is the first clock time such potential taboos have been regard in chart the history of mankind and Neanderthals .
The researchers used gemstone tools to chart how different hunting watch - gathering groups moved throughout Western Eurasia , which was the master home of Neanderthals . These patterns helped show the intersection of humans and Neanderthals and reveal the timeline of their eventual interbreeding . As far as Barton is have-to doe with , the eventual dominance of humans has small to do with genetic transcendence over our Neanderthal cousins — and it ’s very possible this interbreeding happened more than once :
“ Other than the fact that they vanish , there is no evidence that Neanderthals were any less fit as hunting watch - gatherers of the late Pleistocene than any other human root living at that prison term . It count like they were as up to as anyone else . Neanderthal man ’ bequest lives on in our biologic genome and possibly in our ethnical knowledge . There may have been may other populations like Neanderthals who were integrate into a global human metal money in the Late Pleistocene . We ’re the outcome . ”
ViaArizona State . icon by Erix ! onFlickr .
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