Neanderthals had to compete against modern humans and were wiped off the face of the Earth in a prehistoric battle for survival, according to a new report. Modern humans were better at surviving the cold and had more efficiently ways of hunting for food. Thirty scientists compiled the report, which was based on extensive data from sediment cores, archaeological artefacts such as fossils and tools, radiometric dating and climate models.
It gives an idea of what life was like in Europe from 60,000 to 25,000 years ago and was part of a project known as Stage 3, which refers to the time period analysed. One of the scientists involved in the research said that a combination of factors killed the Neanderthals. "They were in competition with anatomically modern humans at a time when there was increasing severe cold stress that was not only affecting them, but also the food resources they relied on," said Professor Leslie Aiello, head of the U.K.'s University College London Graduate School, and an expert on Neanderthal response to weather, according to &to=http://www.abc.net.au' target=_blank>ABC
© &to=http://www.kansascity.com' target=_blank>Kansascity.com reports that a study of the skulls of Neanderthals, comparing them with early and modern humans, concludes that the ancient group is unlikely to have been the ancestor of people today. Scientists have long debated whether humans are related to Neanderthals, the squat, powerful hunters who dominated Europe for 100,000 years before dying out. Also, the difference was as great as or greater than that found between closely related primate species, such as humans, gorillas and chimpanzees. Although Harvati says the analysis "cannot completely rule out" a relationship between humans and Neanderthals, it strongly suggests they are separate species. The jawbone, dated at 34,000 to 36,000 years ago, when humans overlapped with Neanderthals, has characteristics similar to other early modern humans, but also certain features that indicate a possible Neanderthal connection, the researchers said. That suggests the possibility of interbreeding with Neanderthals.
Though many scientists think Neanderthals were a subspecies, which could have interbred with Homo sapiens, new research appears to confirm the more widely held view that Neanderthals and modern humans were significantly different, enough to qualify as separate species. The findings were based on detailed measurements of variations in the skulls of modern humans and Neanderthals as well as 12 existing species of non-human primates. The research team, led by Dr Katerina Harvati, a paleoanthropologist at New York University , reported its results on Monday during the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "What we are really saying is that Neanderthals did not contribute to the ancestry of modern Europeans," Harvati said, reports &to=http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com' target=_blank>The Times of India
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