Researchers have uncovered new evidence supporting the idea that Neanderthals were a distinct species, as opposed to a subspecies of modern humans.
The scientists looked at the entire nasal complex of Neanderthals, and determined it was not inferior but rather distinct from those possessed by modern humans, SUNY Downstate Medical Center reported. The findings also suggest Neanderthals went extinct because of competition with modern humans, and not the inability of their noses to adapt to a colder and drier climate.
The findings suggest past approaches that compared Neanderthal noses with those the Inuit and modern Europeans (whose nasal complexes adapted to cold temperatures) were incorrect. New evidence suggests the Neanderthals' upper respiratory tract and overall body plan have a separate evolutionary history than modern humans', suggesting they were a completely different species.
"The strategy was to have a comprehensive examination of the nasal region of diverse modern human population groups and then compare the data with the fossil evidence. We used traditional morphometrics, geometric morphometric methodology based on 3D coordinate data, and CT imaging," said Samuel Márquez, associate professor and co-discipline director of gross anatomy in SUNY Downstate's Department of Cell Biology.
To make the findings Anthony S. Pagano, anatomy instructor at NYU Langone Medical Center, traveled to a number of European museums and used a microscribe digitizer to collect 3D coordinate data from fossils. The findings were reviewed by co-author William Lawson vice-chair and the Eugen Grabscheid research professor of otolaryngology and director of the Paleorhinology Laboratory of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who has seen over 7,000 patients with a wide variety of nasal anatomy. The research also showed Neanderthals also had distinct vocal tract proportions from modern humans.
"The strength of this new research lies in its taking the totality of the Neanderthal nasal complex into account, rather than looking at a single feature. By looking at the complete morphological pattern, we can conclude that Neanderthals are our close relatives, but they are not us," said Professor Jeffrey T. Laitman, PhD, also of the Icahn School of Medicine and director of the Center for Anatomy and Functional Morphology.
The findings were published in the November issue of The Anatomical Record.
