New research suggests Neanderthals and modern humans were living side-by-side in Europe for between 2,600 and 5,400.
The findings also suggest Neanderthals disappeared at different times across Europe instead of being replaced by modern humans, the University of Oxford reported. To make their findings the researchers performed radiocarbon dating on 200 samples of ancient bone, charcoal, and shell from 40 European archaeological sites.
The sites were either linked with a Neanderthal tool-making industry called Mousterian or "transitional" sites containing stone tools associated with modern humans. The findings of the study suggest Neanderthals and modern humans had "ample" time to interact and even interbreed. Past studies that looked at human genetic makeup suggest both groups interbred outside of Africa.
"We believe we now have the first robust timeline that sheds new light on some of the key questions around the possible interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans. The chronology also pinpoints the timing of the Neanderthals' disappearance, and suggests they may have survived in dwindling populations in pockets of Europe before they became extinct," Professor Thomas Higham said.
According to the new timeline the Mousterian industry (attributed to Neanderthals) ended somewhere between 41,030 and 39,260 years ago. At many of the sites researchers found shells and beads which they believe suggest highly advanced behavior. This supports the idea that Neanderthals were introduced to modern humans and started copying their behavior. The paper suggests humans did not simply replace Neanderthals, but rather mixed in a "cultural mosaic."
"Previous radiocarbon dates have often underestimated the age of samples from sites associated with Neanderthals because the organic matter was contaminated with modern particles. We used ultrafiltration methods, which purify the extracted collagen from bone, to avoid the risk of modern contamination. This means we can say with more confidence that we have finally resolved the timing of the disappearance of our close cousins, the Neanderthals. Of course the Neanderthals are not completely extinct because some of their genes are in most of us today," Higham said.
The paper was published in Nature.
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