A new study claims that one of the reasons for the extinction of the Stone Age Neanderthal species was to establish a relationship with humans. It should be noted that the Neanderthal was a human-like creature found in Europe and Western Asia in the second phase of the Stone Age, whose physical and mental structure was different from humans.
According to the latest research published in the journal Paleoanthropology, Neanderthals became less related to each other due to intercourse with humans, which eventually led to their extinction.
Dr Lucille Crate told the British Broadcasting Corporation that for a long time it was believed that there had been a war for resources between Neanderthals and humans. However, a joint research paper by Dr Crate and Professor Chris Stringer claims that the extinction of this species was not due to violence, but due to increased contact with the human population, which led to the extinction of Neanderthal genetics.
Professor Stringer said after the research was published: “We think this was the reason for their extinction because if they were having sexual relations with humans, their population would gradually die out.”
Neanderthal genetic DNA can be found in every person alive today, including those of African descent, whose ancestors are thought to have had no direct contact with Stone Age man.
It should be noted that according to the scientific theory, Neanderthals and humans separated from each other about 600,000 years ago, after which both developed in different regions of the world. Humans settled in Africa while Neanderthals settled in Europe and Asia.
However, Dr. Crate says that the recent discovery has shown that humans also existed in Europe 50 to 60 thousand years ago. This means that humans spent more time with Neanderthals. According to the research, the Neanderthal genome is found in humans, but it has not been reversed, that is, the human genome is not found in Neanderthals.
It appears that the genetic exchange did occur, but only in one direction, says Dr. Crait. It is already recognized that sexual relations between the two species were established. If you were born outside of Africa, two percent of your genome came from Neanderthals. But Dr. Crait and Dr. Stringer examined the issue more deeply.
They analyzed the 32 Neanderthal genomes discovered so far. Another theory has been proposed by Dr. Crate and Dr. Stringer.
He believes that this sexual relationship did not always involve the consent of both parties. Humans may have gone out in search of matter, or vice versa, and force has been used in the search for fertile offspring.
He explained that this type of behavior is found in some chimpanzees. If a female in a group is unable to breed, chimpanzees from that group may steal females from another group. However, little is known about such sexual relations.
Scientists believe that Neanderthals and humans could not have easily interacted because they were so different from each other. “They couldn’t even make the same sounds because their brains were built differently,” explains Dr. Crait.