How long have Neanderthals and modern humans coexisted in Europe? There is evidence that it may have been at least 10,000 years ago

The idea that two distinct hominins, Homo sapiens (us) and Neanderthals, coexisted in western Eurasia between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago has long captivated the imagination of scholars and laypeople alike. I’ve been doing it.

It is no wonder, then, that this period, the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic, has become a focus of research for many archaeologists, physical anthropologists, and more recently geneticists.

Various scenarios have been proposed over the years, ranging from those that posit tens of thousands of years of coexistence between the two human groups to those that posit a much more rapid replacement of Neanderthals by Homo sapiens, through active or accidental forced migration. It has been considered. By outwitting our cousins ​​or over resources.

Occasional interbreeding is possible on both sides, resulting in some Neanderthals in many of us, especially those of European and East Asian descent.

However, exploring this distant era presents many challenges. Human skeletons are relatively rare, and many of the best-known fossils were excavated during the 19th century and early 20th century under less than ideal conditions.

When human remains are discovered, questions often arise about their exact relationship to other archaeological remains at the same site, such as stone and bone tools, animal remains, and other finds. Associations between certain species of humans and excavated artifacts have often been assumed, often later proving to be false.

Major revisions

The transitional period of 50,000 to 40,000 years ago is within the lower limits of radiocarbon dating, a technique applicable only to organic remains up to about 50,000 years ago. This means that very recent contamination from burial environments or museum archives can make dating from these sites very difficult.

As a result, the past decade has seen significant revisions to the dates of early human occupation, shifting the dates of Neanderthal and modern human remains by thousands of years.

This is clearly important to the discussion, as it is impossible to talk about duplication or replacement without a robust chronology. There is also the issue of spatial scale. For example, does the persistence of Neanderthals in southern Iberia after 40,000 years ago represent a long period of overlap and coexistence, or a “last stand” at the continent’s margins, explicitly avoiding contact with newcomers? Are you there?

The latest intruder into the fray comes from the Ilsenhöhle cave in Ranis, central-eastern Germany. This cave has a wonderful location at the foot of his 16th century Renaissance castle, which has early medieval origins.

An international multidisciplinary team has identified human (Homo sapiens) remains from both early 20th century and recent excavations in the cave, dating them to around 45,000 years ago. did. The authors believe that by combining the early dates of Homo sapiens in France with the various dates of Neanderthals around Europe around 45,000 years ago, they believe that there is a potential gap between the two species that lasts about 10,000 years. It states that overlapping periods will be possible.

In a related paper, the researchers reported the results of an analysis of oxygen stable isotopes (different chemical forms of the element) from the teeth of mammals of the equid family (Equidae). These teeth came from the same sediment level as human remains. As a result, people likely experienced a particularly cold spell about 45 to 43,000 years ago.

The Homo sapiens remains are associated with what was previously thought to be an obscure stone tool industry (a specific method of making tools) called the Rincombe-Ranissian-Yelsmanovikian (LRJ). However, it is unclear whether these were created by Neanderthals or modern humans.

mysterious tool maker

Other transitional Middle to Late Paleolithic stone tool industries have a long history of the same problems. I don’t know who made it. The most notable are the Châtelperronians of southern France and northern Spain. Do the Neanderthal remains associated with some of these “modern-looking” tool industries mean they were tool makers, or is this association coincidental?

This debate continues apace, with the recent identification of a possible neonatal Homo sapiens ilium in the Chatelperronian population at the Rennes Caves in Arcy-sur-Cure, central France. Only Neanderthal remains had previously been identified here.

Most of the caves with Paleolithic deposits were occupied intermittently by both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens over thousands of years. The materials mix easily, making it difficult to determine who made them, short of finding tools buried in modern human graves. However, Ranis appears to have the advantage in this regard, as the level containing human remains and LRJ tools was sealed together by a rockfall.

However, you need to be careful here too. The level dates under consideration still span thousands of years, and it is quite possible that there were short visits by both sides during that time.

new archaeological techniques

Lanis’ results not only provide important new data for understanding the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition, but also highlight the contribution of recent developments in archaeological science.

Instead of unearthing a complete skeleton or skull, which would have traditionally been an important new hominid fossil, Lanis unearthed only a few small, recognizable human bone fragments. Several other small bone fragments were identified as belonging to the hominid family (the broader human family) using a technique known as proteomics (the study of protein structures specific to a genus and, in some cases, a species). was identified. This technique was also applied to the local fauna in another related paper.

Relatively high-precision radiocarbon dating was then performed on both the sediment levels and the human remains themselves. The accuracy of these dates was further improved through statistical modeling.

But most importantly for the question at hand, ancient DNA analysis, in this case mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), confirmed Homo sapiens. The mtDNA results linked Ranis to other Early Upper Paleolithic hominid sites in Zlatiks in the Czech Republic and Humane Cave in Italy.

As the authors of the Lanis study point out, there is an interesting twist to this story, with recent genetic studies showing that Homo sapiens, which made the early forays into Europe, itself It has been suggested that they were likely replaced by other Homo sapiens groups.

Therefore, the focus on the Middle to Late Paleolithic transition and its replacement of one human group by another, all involving Homo sapiens, has remained much less visible as well. may need to be extended to take into account subsequent events.