Neanderthal extinction revealed in French cave discoveries
- The last Neanderthal died approximately 41,000 years ago, coinciding with the arrival of modern humans.
- Recent genomic discoveries from a cave in France are providing new insights into the extinction of Neanderthals.
- These findings suggest complex interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans, reshaping our understanding of their extinction.
Around 41,000 years ago, the last Neanderthal perished, marking the end of a diverse lineage of bipedal apes. This extinction coincided closely with the arrival of modern humans in their territory, raising questions about the interactions between the two species. Recent discoveries from genomes of the final Neanderthals, found in a cave in France, are providing new insights into this pivotal moment in human history. Researchers, including Ludovic Slimak from the Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, emphasize that these findings are reshaping our understanding of the Neanderthals' extinction process. The evidence suggests that the encounters between Neanderthals and modern humans were complex and may have involved competition for resources, disease transmission, or even interbreeding. As scientists continue to analyze these genomes, they hope to uncover more about the factors that led to the Neanderthals' demise and the eventual dominance of Homo sapiens.