Human, Neanderthal interbreeding reported
BUCHAREST, Romania, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Romanian and U.S. scientists have
found evidence modern humans and Neanderthals interbred as Homo
sapiens spread across Europe 35,000 years ago.
The findings are based on ancient human bones recovered from a
Romanian cave, National Geographic News reported, and add to the
mystery of why Neanderthals eventually became extinct.
Some scientists argue Neanderthals were slaughtered or out-competed
by ancestors of modern humans, but NGN said the new research, suggests
a more intimate relationship, with Neanderthals becoming absorbed into
the human race through interbreeding.
A member of the U.S. team, Washington University anthropologist Erik
Trinkaus, said although the remains are largely typical of modern
humans, they also show some distinctly Neanderthal skeletal traits,
including the shape of the lower jaw and the back of the skull.
Trinkaus told National Geographic News those features are extremely
unlikely to have come from earlier modern humans but very likely have
come from Neanderthals.
The study is detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Copyright Political Gateway 2006(c)
Copyright United Press International 2006
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Terence L. Day
635 SE Steptoe Street
Pullman WA 99163
509-334-1619 terence@moscow.com
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Genealogy is in my genes
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