Life appearance reconstruction of a Neanderthal male at the Natural History Museum of London. (Allan Henderson)
A groundbreaking study by an international team of researchers, including experts from Binghamton University, State University of New York, sheds new light on the decline of Neanderthals. The findings suggest that Neanderthals experienced a significant loss of genetic diversity over time, which may have contributed to their eventual extinction.
Co-authored by Binghamton University Anthropology Professor Rolf Quam and graduate student Brian Keeling, the study analyzed morphological diversity in the semicircular canals—inner ear structures essential for balance. Researchers examined fossilized remains from key archaeological sites, including Atapuerca (Spain) and Krapina (Croatia), as well as other locations across Europe and Western Asia.
This research provides crucial insights into Neanderthal evolution and their struggle for survival. By understanding the genetic bottlenecks they faced, scientists can better explore the factors that led to their disappearance and how it relates to human evolution.
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“The development of the inner ear structures is known to be under very tight genetic control, since they are fully formed at the time of birth,” said Quam. “This makes variation in the semicircular canals an ideal proxy for studying evolutionary relationships between species in the past since any differences between fossil specimens reflect underlying genetic differences. The present study represents a novel approach to estimating genetic diversity within Neandertal populations.”
The Atapuerca fossils—referred to as “pre-Neanderthals”—date to about 400,000 years ago and represent the earliest fossils that anthropologists consider clear Neandertal ancestors. The Neanderthals emerged around 250,000 years ago from these populations which inhabited the Eurasian continent between 500,000 and 250,000 years ago. The Croatian site of Krapina represents the most complete collection of early Neanderthals and dates to approximately 130,000 years ago. The researchers calculated the amount of morphological diversity (i.e., disparity) of the semicircular canals of both samples, comparing them with each other and with a sample of “classic” Neanderthals of different ages and geographical origins.
“It is exciting to be included in this research project which relies on some of the latest cutting-edge methodologies in our field,” said Keeling. “As a student of human evolution, I am always amazed at research that pushes the boundaries of our knowledge.”
The new study’s findings reveal that the morphological diversity of the semicircular canals of classic Neanderthals is clearly lower than that of pre-Neanderthals and early Neanderthals, which aligns with the ancient DNA results.
