Europe’s Last Neandertals Were More Diverse Than Expected Before Disappearing

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - A new study offers the most detailed view yet of Neandertal diversity in western Europe shortly before their extinction.

By analyzing genetic data from 27 Neandertals from present-day Belgium and France, researchers found that late Neandertal populations were more genetically connected and diverse than previously believed. The study found no evidence of recent gene flow from modern humans into these groups and challenges the view that genetic decline was a primary factor in their disappearance.

A significant contribution came from the Neanderthal specimen discovered at Les Cottés in France, excavated under the direction of Professor Marie Soressi of Leiden University’s Faculty of Archaeology. Earlier genetic analyses of this individual revealed an unexpected profile, indicating connections to Neandertal populations beyond western Europe.

"The Neanderthals studied here are some of the last known individuals from northwestern Europe, who lived shortly before the disappearance of Neanderthals. Compared with modern humans, Neanderthals had a much lower effective population size, with weaker purifying selection and possibly reduced fitness. It has been suggested that a loss of genetic diversity may have contributed to their disappearance," the researchers write in their science paper.

Les Cottés cave in France. Photo credit: M. Soressi

In this study, the Les Cottés specimen served as a key reference for interpreting new genomes from Belgium and France and for reconstructing the population history of the last Neandertals. The data show that these final populations were not a single homogeneous group but a network of interconnected communities that retained traces of diverse ancestral lineages until shortly before extinction.

'Each additional high-quality Neandertal genome provides an extraordinary amount of new information,' says Professor Marie Soressi. 'The discoveries reported in this study show how much we can learn when more individuals become available for genetic analysis.'

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Soressi notes that these findings underscore how much is still unknown about Neandertal populations and their social connections.

'We are only beginning to uncover the diversity and complexity of Neandertal populations,' she says. 'As more genomes become available from sites across Europe and beyond, we can move from studying isolated individuals to reconstructing entire communities, their relationships, and the social networks that connected them.'

The study was published in the journal Nature

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer