Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Redating of the latest Neandertals in Europe

Redating of the latest Neandertals in Europe

January 06, 2006

Two Neantertal fossils excavated from Vindija Cave in Croatia in 1998, believed to be the last surviving Neandertals, may be 3,000-4,000 years older than originally thought.

An international team of researchers involving Erik Trinkaus, Ph.D., the Mary Tileston Hemenway Professor of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences; Tom Higham and Christopher Bronk Ramsey of the Oxford University radiocarbon laboratory; Ivor Karavanic of the University of Zagreb; and Fred Smith of Loyola University, has redated the two Neandertals from Vindija Cave, the results of which have been published in the Jan. 2-6 early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).




The resultant ages are between 32,000 and 33,000 years ago, and perhaps slightly older. In 1998, the fossils had been radiocarbon dated to 28,000-29,000 years ago.

Since that time, the increasing application of direct radiocarbon dating to late Neandertal and early modern human fossils in Europe has greatly altered perceptions of the chronological relationships between Neandertals and modern humans during the time that the latter spread westward across Europe.

In particular, it has shown that many of the purportedly early modern human fossils are much more recent, while confirming the early ages of important fossil samples in central and eastern Europe. This work has been combined recently with refinements in the sample purification techniques for the radiocarbon dating bone and teeth, to provide more accurate, and usually older, dates for important fossil specimens.

These new fossil ages still document a substantial chronological overlap between Neandertals and modern humans in Europe, but primarily the work highlights the currently tenuous nature of scenarios of modern human dispersals in Europe based on small numbers of direct radiocarbon dates, using various sample preparation protocols, on diagnostic human fossils in this time range.

Washington University in St. Louis



Related Neandertal Current Events and Neandertal News Articles Neandertal Current Events and Neandertal News RSS Neandertal Current Events and Neandertal News RSS
Prehistoric cold case shows hints of interspecies homicide
The wound that ultimately killed a Neandertal man between 50,000 and 75,000 years was most likely caused by a thrown spear, the kind modern humans used but Neandertals did not, according to Duke University-led research.

Draft version of the Neanderthal genome completed
The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany, and the 454 Life Sciences Corporation, in Branford, Connecticut, will announce on 12 February during the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and at a simultaneous European press briefing that they have completed a first draft version of the Neandertal genome.

Neandertals, humans share key changes to 'language gene'
A new study published online on October 18th in Current Biology reveals that adaptive changes in a human gene involved in speech and language were shared by our closest extinct relatives, the Neandertals.

The emerging fate of the Neandertals
For nearly a century, anthropologists have been debating the relationship of Neandertals to modern humans. Central to the debate is whether Neandertals contributed directly or indirectly to the ancestry of the early modern humans that succeeded them.

Birth rate, competition are major players in hominid extinctions
Modern human mothers are probably happy that they typically have one, maybe two babies at a time, but for early hominids, low birth numbers combined with competition often spelled extinction.

40,000-year-old skull shows both modern human and Neandertal traits
Humans continued to evolve significantly long after they were established in Europe, and interbred with Neandertals as they settled across the continent, according to new research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) USA.

More human-Neandertal mixing evidence uncovered
A reexamination of ancient human bones from Romania reveals more evidence that humans and Neandertals interbred.

Modern humans, not Neandertals, may be evolution's 'odd man out'
Could it be that in the great evolutionary "family tree," it is we Modern Humans, not the brow-ridged, large-nosed Neandertals, who are the odd uncle out?

How modern were European Neanderthals?
Neandertals were much more like modern humans than had been previously thought, according to a re-examination of finds from one of the most famous palaeolithic sites in Europe by Bristol University archaeologist, Professor Joao Zilhao, and his French colleagues.

DOE JGI sequences DNA from extinct cave bear
The genomic DNA sequencing of an extinct Pleistocene cave bear species-the kind of stuff once reserved for science fiction-has been logged into scientific literature thanks to investigators from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI).
More Neandertal Current Events and Neandertal News Articles
The Neandertal Enigma

The Neandertal Enigma
by James Shreeve (Author)



Ancient Mysteries: The Fate of the Neandertals

Ancient Mysteries: The Fate of the Neandertals
Starring: Artist Not Provided

More than 70 thousand years ago, a clan of cave dwellers roamed the cliffs of Le Conte in Southwestern France. They were Neandertals, distant cousins to modern man. The caves, among other archaeological sites, have revealed much about Neandertals. But new disoveries have prompted more questions and mysteries. No other prehistoric group has received as much attention as the Neandertals. No other group carries such a weight of scientific and popular misconceptions or has its name associated with savagery, stupidity and animal strength. Fossils records place the last Neandertal on earth 30,000 years ago. Then they vanished. Or did they? There is more to Neandertals than their fossil remains. This hour will explore the Neandertals who, despite new and enticing clues, remain a people of...

Neandertal Cranium Replica

Neandertal Cranium Replica
by Skullduggery, Inc.

This sculptured series consists of four full size species which represent what the general consensus of authorities in the field believe to be the only known links to Homo sapiens. The fifth in the series, Neandertal man, represents an often disputed link in the lineage to modern man. It is from casts, photographs, published diagrams and text describing these reconstructions that sculptor Larry Williams has developed this extraordinary Hominid Series for Skullduggery.

The Demise of the Neandertals: A Study on Neandertal Extinction

The Demise of the Neandertals: A Study on Neandertal Extinction
by Robert Sandslett (Author)

Neandertals have puzzled scientists since the firstNeandertal was discovered in Germany in 1856. For thepast 150 years, numerous hypotheses regarding thedemise of the Neandertals have been put forward. Thisbook presents the most important of these hypotheses,their development through the history of scientificresearch, and how they can be related to the generalresearch on human evolution. Why is this topic,despite the massive research undertaken the past 150years, still dominated by diametrically opposinghypotheses, all of which base their argumentation onthe same empirical record? How can the majorscientific advances the past decades, seen in fieldsuch as radiometric dating and DNA analysis, help usprogress even further in the quest for a higherunderstanding of how the fascinating...

Neulich im Neandertal (Atte Katte Nuwa) (Oberbayern-Version)

Neulich im Neandertal (Atte Katte Nuwa) (Oberbayern-Version)
Libero5 (Primary Contributor)



Ancient Mysteries: Fate of Neandertals [VHS]

Ancient Mysteries: Fate of Neandertals [VHS]
Starring: Ancient Mysteries



Neandertal - Movie Poster - 11 x 17

Neandertal - Movie Poster - 11 x 17
by Pop Culture Graphics

MovieGoods has Amazon's largest selection of movie and TV show memorabilia, including posters, film cells and more: tens of thousands of items to choose from. We also offer a full selection of framed posters. Customer satisfaction is always guaranteed when you buy from MovieGoods on Amazon at www.amazon.com/moviegoods

Reptilectric Revisitado

Reptilectric Revisitado

Tracks: 1. Neandertal - Bufi 2. Nada - Sebastien Tellier 3. Poli - Schneider TM 4. Resiste - Colder 5. Sombras - Yamil Rezc 6. Luna - Natalia Lafourcade 7. Ultimos Dias - Panico 8. Reptilectric - Dramian & Luriel 9. Nothing - Nick McCarthy 10. Babilonia - Ryg 11. Fantasma - Mad Professor 12. No Hay Dolor - Vitamins For You Bonus Tracks: 13. Sombras - The Glimmers 14. Luna - Hello Seahorse!

Neandertals: A Prehistoric Puzzle (Discovery!)

Neandertals: A Prehistoric Puzzle (Discovery!)
by Yvette La Pierre (Author)

When the first Neandertal skeleton was discovered nearly 150 years ago, scientists presented the race as barely developed brutes. But recent findings indicate that Neandertals made complex tools, organized group hunts, cared for their sick and injured, and buried their dead. How advanced were they? How and why did they disappear? Did they live side-by-side with modern humans?

Nature Tube: Ice Age

Nature Tube: Ice Age
by Wild Republic

Ice Age 10 piece set includes Neandertal cavemen and woman, woolly mammoth, smilodon (sabre-toothed tiger), a giant ground sloth, woolly rhino, camp fire, and cave painting. Figures stand up to 3 inches tall and made from slightly flexible phthalate-free plastic with painted details and names molded underneath. Reusable tube has zippered top and handle for stow-and-go fun.

© 2009 BrightSurf.com