Taylor Alshuth
Anth 350
Human and Neanderthal cohabitation
For my research project I chose to look into the possibility of cohabitation between Homo
sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. I find the subject of Paleoanthropology very interesting and
it is the particular field of Anthropology that I find myself wanting to study, possibly for my
PHD or Masters work. What I find most interesting about Paleoanthropology is that there is so
much that we do not know about the ancient history of humanity. Of the hundreds of thousands
of years that humanity has been around we only really have a picture of what was going on about
10,000 years ago. There are countless other discoveries that can be made which may
revolutionize our beliefs about ancient humanity just waiting to be unearthed. The type of
research that needs to be done on the subject of cohabitation is mostly going to be done with
things like artifact analysis and genetics works, as there is no direct evidence to my knowledge
that has been discovered that proves that humans and Neanderthals lived together in a band type
setting. If direct evidence was discovered it would have to be nothing short of a burial containing
both human and Neanderthal remains. Since both species were known to bury their dead this
remains a possibility and would add more strength to the theory of cohabitation. I also will
present possible theories for the extinction of the Neanderthals, ranging from climate change to
absorption into our genus, while discussing the merits of each theory.
The subject of anatomically modern human (AMH) and Neanderthal man cohabitation is
hotly debated. While there is evidence that there was definite interaction between the two
species, there isn't enough evidence to conclude that they lived, traveled, or hunted together in
small groups. The evidence that we do have is both physical and genetic, and the both are strong
indicators of interactions between both groups. For physical evidence, stone tools that were left
behind by the Neanderthal indicate that there may have been some influence from AMH. For
genetic evidence, the genome of modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) indicates that there are
some genes that were passed on from Neanderthals which would indicate cross-species breeding.
On the subject of the Neanderthal's extinction there are numerous theories to what caused their
downfall. The most prevalent theories include the Absorption theory, which states that breeding
between AMH and Neanderthals resulted in them becoming absorbed into our genus, Direct
human caused extinction, which included acts of warfare and competition for territory, and
climate change. While we don’t know exactly what cased their downfall what we do know for
certain is this: we are here, and they are not.
The sites in which AMH and Neanderthal interaction would've taken place are mostly
throughout Europe and the Middle East.[8] For the purposes of my paper, I will mainly be
discussing the cohabitation that may have occurred in Europe. AMH didn't start to expand into
Europe until around 50,000 BP, during which Neanderthals had already established themselves
across most of Europe and parts of the Middle East. So far, there have been no Neanderthal
fossils found in Asia. The Neanderthal and AMH had been separated for around 300,000 years,
which would allow adequate time for them to adapt to their respective environments. AMH's
skeletal morphology is more or less the same as modern humans today, with the most notable
exception being that modern humans are generally taller than AMH. The Neanderthal's
morphological structure allowed to survive in colder climates than AMH. They had a more
pronounced brow ridge and a less neotenized skull than AMH.[2] They were more robust than
AMH, having a smaller, stockier build such as a wider shoulder and a barrel-shaped rib-cage.
They had larger noses which are believed to have aided the Neanderthal by warming the colder
air before it was inhaled.[3] During this time period the planet was going through numerous
glacial and interglacial periods. It was only during the interglacial periods that AMH was able to
expand across Europe and meet up with Neanderthals there.
Below is a picture illustrating some of the key morphological differences between
humans and Neanderthals.
One of the possible ways that AMH and Neanderthal may have been interacting with one
another was through acculturation. Acculturation is the process of cultural and physiological
changes that occur as a result of two cultures meeting. One of the best examples of how thus
might have occurred between AMH and Neanderthal was with their stone tools.[1] At the site of
Orgnac 3 in France we have some of the earliest records of Neanderthal stone tools. The site
dates back to around 300,000 BP, long before AMH was in Europe. This also marks one of the
earliest appearances of the Levallois knapping technique. The site contains some 50,000 flakes
produced by knapping. About 50% of them were less than 20mm long, with around half of those
being less than 10 mm long. The other 50% of the flakes were between 20-80mm long with some
ranging from 80-120mm. A lot of the tools were simple in design, with a majority of them being
scrapers that they would've used primarily to remove meat from bone. In fact, there was a
number of faunal remains at the site that are indicative of hunting or opportunistic scavenging.
many of the raw materials were gathered from local flint sources ranging from 2-5km away.[5]
There is evidence that knapping took place at the site, but it is not believed that this was a
primary location for knapping. Some of the sizes of the flakes when compared to cores that have
been found show that there was another location where knapping had taken place prior to being
brought to Orgnac 3. The Levallois knapping technique left a large amount of blanks and small
flakes which are believed to have been produced intentionally. It is possible that they held on to
the flakes in case they thought that they could use them later. [5]
The image below illustrates some examples of the types of flakes and flake tools, as well
as various methods that were used to produce them, found at the site of Orgnac 3.
[5]
When AMH arrived in Europe they brought with them their knowledge of knapping and
flaking. The tools that are associated with AMH that arrived in Europe are called Aurignacian
tools. The Aurignacian flint tools are characterized by fine blades struck from prepared cores
instead of using crude flakes. The Aurignacian tools also mark the first appearance of ancient art,
such as cave paintings and the Venus statues. It is possible that another explanation for the
Venus statues may be a stylistic representation of Neanderthals by AMH? The dates on the
Aurignacian tools range from 45,000 BP to around 27,000 BP. The times in which AMH had
been occupying Europe ranges from 38,000BP to 36,000 BP. It is during this time period that it
would appear that AMH's acculturation of Neanderthal would've possibly taken place.[1] The
strongest physical evidence of this occurring lies in the Chatelperronian tools that the
Neanderthal had produced. The characteristics of the Chatelperronian flint tools are large thick
flakes that were used for cores. They would detach long, thin blades using one to two striking
points. It is very probable that they used soft hammer percussion in order to do this. What is
interesting about these tools is that they are more advanced than the older Mousterian tools that
the Neanderthals produced. While the relation can be seen between the two types, the similarities
that they share with the Aurgnacian tools are very relevant. The Chatelperronian tools are also
the first kind of tools in which we see the Neanderthals using ivory.[9] This seems to be a clear
connection between the Aurgnacian tools and the Chatelperronian tools as the Aurgnacian tools
made use of ivory before the Chatelperronian tools did. Whether this was direct acculturation
from AMH to Neanderthal or imitation by Neanderthal still remains to be seen. It seems very
likely that upon seeing the Aurgnacian tools that AMH had been making the Mousterian tools
that Neanderthal was making until then would begin to incorporate the new technology into their
tool making. Direct interaction between the two species for the purpose of education seems
unlikely. Imitation seems to be the most probable reason for the increase in complexity of the
Chatelperronian tools. The Chatelperonian/Mousterian tool culture represents the last
technological advancements that the Neanderthal had made until their extinction around 22,000
BP- 25,000 BP years ago.[7]
Another reason that AMH and Neanderthal may have cohabitated with one another lies
within the Human genome. It is estimated that gene flow from Neanderthals into early modern
humans ranges anywhere from 25%-0.1% depending on the demographic model used. [4] The
reason that there is such a large discrepancy in the percentage of gene flow is because the results
are from mtDNA. The mtDNA is passed on maternally, meaning that the data only takes into
account mating that would've occurred between AMH males and Neanderthal females. It is
possible that breeding would've occurred from Neanderthal males and AMH females as well.
The data has to account for this, resulting in the large range that is seen. It definitely indicates
some form of cohabitation between the two species. Whether or not this was intentional mating
between the two groups or something that was forced remains to be seen. It is possible that it
could've been a little bit of both. This indicates that the two species were genetically close
enough with one another to produce viable reproductive offspring . With regards to Neanderthal
contribution to Modern Humans, it is estimated that they contributed somewhere between 1-4%
to the European gene pool and around the same percentages to the Asian gene pool. [4] The fact
that Neanderthals have been said to have contributed to the Asian gene pool is interesting as no
Neanderthal fossils have yet to be found in Asia. There are some genes, such as red hair, that are
believed to have originated from Neanderthals. The possibility of AMH-Neanderthal
hybridization isn't something that is unique to those two species. There is evidence to suggest
that AMH had also been breeding with Archaic Homo sapiens sometime prior. Many studies are
beginning to uncover a pattern in the variation of the human DNA sequence that strongly
suggests the admixture between two divergent populations. By examining two segments of noncoding DNA on the human X chromosome, one study found evidence that two clades of allelic
sequences that were estimated to have diverged 2 million years ago. One of the divergent clades
is found at high frequencies in East Asian populations and is almost completely absent in
samples from sub-Saharan African populations. This deep division in the evolutionary history of
the genomic region suggests descent from more than one ancestral population. The lack of
variation in one of the clades further suggests a genetic bottleneck, a pattern that is consistent
with low levels of archaic contribution to the modern human genome. This overall data suggests
that AMH cross-breeding seems to have been something that was relatively common and makes
the possibility of cohabitations between multiple species even more likely.[6]
While the thought of cohabitation between AMH and Neanderthal seems plausible it was
more likely that there encounters were more hostile. One of the leading beliefs for Neanderthal
extinction is out competition by AMH. This can be supported through the physical evidence of
stone tools. As I mentioned earlier, it would appear that Neanderthal adopted a similar tool style
to AMH after they had started to inhabit the same areas. They very plausibly would've competed
for the same resources and the ability of AMH to create these tools faster and more efficiently
would give them a keen edge in the battle for survival. If there was warfare between the two
species, this would still give the advantage to AMH. While this theory seems very likely there
has been no evidence, to my knowledge, that indicates warfare between the two species. Also, if
there were to be physical evidence, such as stone tool cause cut marks on bones, it would be hard
to determine if this was caused by acts of violence between AMH and Neanderthals or if this was
inflicted by a member of the same species.
Another possible theory for Neanderthal extinction includes absorption, whereby the
Neanderthal populations were slowly absorbed into the AMH populations through breeding. That
being said, this process would've taken a very long time. The first breeding interactions between
the two species is likely to have taken place in the Middle East. It has to be stated that
human/Neanderthal cross breeding was something that was probably relatively uncommon
compared to normal same-species breeding. It's not like every human around was shacking up
with the closest Neanderthal they could find, and vice versa. The hybrids themselves can be
considered isolated incidents until we find evidence proving otherwise. While it may seem gross
to us that our human ancestors were breeding with Neanderthals, when one takes into account the
vast morphological differences between humans today, it becomes far more relatable. The
thought of AMH/Neanderthal hybrids is a concerning one though. As evidenced by
crossbreeding of horses and donkeys, hybridization can often lead to the offspring being sterile
or having other physical difficulties that make survival into sexual maturity difficult.
Nevertheless, the absorption theory remains a possibility as we have evidence of interbreeding.
The genetic evidence that I stated earlier helps to support this to a point, but not enough evidence
is present to conclude that this was a major contributing factor in the Neanderthal's decline.
Below is a map that indicates some areas where interbreeding between AMH and
Neanderthals would've been likely to occur.
Another possibility for the Neanderthal extinction has to deal with climate change and
clothing. While it is known that AMH and Neanderthals both survived for some time during the
Ice Age, only humans were left afterwards. It is postulated that Neanderthals did not make
complex enough clothing which enabled AMH to survive when the temperature dropped.[10]
While the Neanderthal was more morphologically cold adapted than AMH, it still required some
form of clothing to help stay warm during the cold Pleistocene winters. It has been suggested
that because of their inherent cold adaptations the Neanderthals didn't need to make more
complex clothing and as a result never needed to develop tools that would've enabled them to do
such. Also, prior to the arrival of AMH, the Neanderthal would've needed to expand their
territories into the much colder landscape. AMH, who wasn't very cold adapted at all, would've
needed to develop the tools to make the type of clothing that would enable them to survive the
harsh cold of the Ice age in Europe. As AMH expanded throughout Europe, they would've
competed with the Neanderthals for space and game. It is possible the AMH would've
inadvertently pushed the Neanderthals further north into much colder territory. Combined with
the fluctuating temperatures of the Ice age, this could've spelled disaster to the Neanderthals.
This is very hard to prove, as there are little physical remains outside of buttons and sewing tools
that indicate the style and complexity of clothing that AMH and Neanderthals had been
producing. [10]
The most likely cause for the Neanderthal's extinction was a combination of all of these
factors and more. It is likely that some of the interactions that happened between AMH and
Neanderthals would've been openly hostile and resulted in casualties on both sides. As there is
genetic evidence of breeding between the two species which indicates that at least some of the
Neanderthal population was absorbed into our genus. Coupled with the increasingly cooler
temperatures that happened during the late Ice age, it would've been a slow crawl for the
extinction of the Neanderthal.
In conclusion, while there is no direct physical evidence of cohabitation between AMH
and Neanderthals. There is, however, indirect evidence that leads us to conclude that
cohabitation between the two species was a definite possibility. The genetic evidence indicates
that breeding was possible and did occur, and the physical evidence of the stone tools may
indicate possible acculturation or at least imitation. Nevertheless, the fact that humans and
Neanderthals had some kind of interaction is undeniable. On the subject of the Neanderthal's
extinction it was likely a combination of climate change and human caused methods. Humans
probably contributed, both directly and indirectly, to the extinction of Neanderthals. Whether it
was by breeding or by violence, humanity had some impact on the declination of the Neanderthal
population.
Bibliography
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