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Neanderthals' may have survived longer than previously thought
(BBC NEWS, 13 September 2006)
A study in Nature magazine suggests the species may have lived in Gorham's Cave on Gibraltar up to 24,000 years ago. . . . The Neanderthal people were believed to have died out about 35,000 years ago, at a time when modern humans were advancing across the continent. . . . The new evidence suggests they held on in Europe's deep south long after the arrival of Homo sapiens. . . . The research team believes the Gibraltar Neanderthals may even have been the very last of their kind. . . . Though once thought to have been our ancestors, the Neanderthals are now considered an evolutionary dead end. . . . They appear in the fossil record around 230,000 years ago and, at their peak, these squat, physically powerful hunters dominated a wide range, spanning Britain and Iberia in the west to Israel in the south and Uzbekistan in the east. . . . Our own species, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa, and displaced the Neanderthals after entering Europe about 40,000 years ago. . . . But evidence for a presence 24,000 years ago is limited, so the researchers can only say with confidence that Neanderthals were in the cave until 28,000 years ago. . . . Even so, this date makes the cave the youngest Neanderthal occupation site known anywhere. . . . Scientists believe it was a favoured spot where hunting groups sought refuge from cold weather during the last Ice Age. . . . Professor Stringer thinks the site provides an important insight into the reasons for Neanderthal extinction. . . . "For years, many of us have tended to look for one single reason why Neanderthals died out - that we interbred with them, or out-competed them, or killed them off. The Gibraltar evidence fits into a picture that has been emerging in recent years of quite a complex event," he explained. . . . "The idea of modern humans coming in and Neanderthals dying out simply didn't happen." . . . The Neanderthals survived in local pockets during previous Ice Ages, bouncing back when conditions improved. But the last one appears to have been characterised by several rapid and severe changes in climate which hit a peak 30,000 years ago. . . . These were probably more dramatic in more northerly parts of Europe, where they may have upset the balance between Neanderthals and modern humans, allowing moderns to gain the upper hand. . . . Gibraltar's climate was sheltered from many of these changes, but it did eventually deteriorate. Recent deep-sea core data show that temperatures dropped sharply around 24,000 years ago. This could have created drought-like conditions in the area which may also have reduced the number of prey the Neanderthals could catch. . . . "If you've got a shrinking Neanderthal population on the edge, it might just be enough to tip them over the edge," Professor Finlayson told BBC News. . . . Details of the work will be presented here at the Calpe conference, which runs from 14-17 September in Gibraltar.

posted by Lorenzo 2:29 PM