Declining fertility may be behind Neanderthal extinction: study

Source:AFP Published: 2019/5/30 17:18:40

A small reduction in the fertility rate of young Neanderthal women over a period of thousands of years could account for the extinction of the ancient human species, according to a study published in PLOS ONE on Wednesday.

Our closest human relatives lived across Europe between around 400,000 to 40,000 years ago, their disappearance coinciding with the arrival of homo sapiens on the continent.

But the reasons for that disappearance have remained an enigma.

Researchers at France's CNRS developed a mathematical model that would simulate scenarios under which Neanderthals went extinct.

Most models "would bring about a disappearance that was too rapid," said Silvana Condemi, an anthropologist and a co-author of the study.

"On the other hand, a very slight dip in the fertility rate of young women is compatible with the known timeframe of extinction," she said.

AFP

Posted in: ODD NEWS,WORLD

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