Supercomputer Simulates Neanderthal Extinction, Finds Humans Were to Blame for Our Ancient Relatives

[Judi Lynn]

Supercomputer Simulates Neanderthal Extinction, Finds Humans Were to Blame for Our Ancient Relatives' Demise
BY JASON MURDOCK ON 5/22/20 AT 8:33 AM EDT

ompetition for resources between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens was the reason for our ancient relatives' demise, new research suggests. Supercomputer simulations have found that Neanderthal extinction—believed to have occurred between 43 to 38 thousand years ago—was unlikely to have been caused by shifts in the climate or interbreeding with travelers from our species.

Spearheaded by Axel Timmermann, director at the Institute for Basic Science's (IBS) Center for Climate Physics, South Korea, a team used mathematical models to simulate migration patterns of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, and how they interacted over time.

Until now, such models did not exist. "This is the first time we can quantify the drivers of Neanderthal extinction," Timmermann said in a statement. "In the model I can turn on and off... processes such as abrupt climate change, interbreeding or competition."

Experts say that Neanderthals lived in Europe, southwest and central Asia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago and are considered to be the closest ancient human relatives, with evidence pointing to both species sharing a common ancestor.

More:
https://www.newsweek.com/neanderthal-extinction-aleph-supercomputer-simulates-homo-sapiens-demise-competition-1505929?piano_t=1

[Beakybird]

1. The Neanderthals probably thought, "With these assholes around, why go on living?"

It's amazing that a supercomputer could tease so many variables.

[Warpy]

2. Some people are wedded to the shootout at the OK corral scenario

We know that there was interbreeding. What is no so obvious is what happened with hybrids. As is the case in other close species hybrids, the likeliest scenario was that the males shot blanks. I wonder if he's considered this particular effect in his models. My guess is not.

We didn't outcompete them, they were ideally suited to Ice Age Europe and Asia. We weren't any smarter, their tools might look big and clumsy to the untrained eye, but they were a lot more ergonomic than modern human tools of the same period. What we were is a lot more mobile, extending our own range far beyond their semi fixed settlements, and if we'd left enough infertile male offspring with those foxy Neanderthal ladies, that could explain both the signs of inbreeding geneticists have seen in later remains and a drop in population that likely finished them off.

This field, like the planet itself, is continuing to evolve. I tend to mistrust computer modeling at this stage because we really don't know anywhere near the whole story yet. It's like looking through a keyhole and thinking you can see the entire interior of Versailles.

Likely different populations faced different pressures. We don't know what some of them were, likely we'd brought new diseases with us along with everything else. The effects of hybridization were likely another. Climate did vary widely during the last Ice Age, and for settled people, it was likely feast of famine.