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Actually, the evidence is still here, and it's us. Genomic studies are increasingly suggesting an almighty y-bottleneck 20ka ago. One of the things this is con
by madaxe_again 10y ago
Actually, the evidence is still here, and it's us.
Genomic studies are increasingly suggesting an almighty y-bottleneck 20ka ago. One of the things this is consistent with would be a matriarchical society, as females would control reproduction. Couple this with "Venus" figurines scattered across Europe, evidence for societal upheaval ~15ka ago, and a possible and plausible explanation becomes that females were running the show for much of history, being the ones that can bear young (c.f. Animal hierarchies), and males took control recently, possibly in response to encountering other humans (neanderthalis).
Anyway, it's all very patchy and speculative right now, but further genomic studies and archaeology probably can answer this one.
- danieltillett 10y agoA Y-chromosome bottleneck actually suggest a limited number of males controlled reproduction not females.
- madaxe_again 10y agoLimited number, but not necessarily controlled, and the bottleneck could be symptomatic of a change in control. You are absolutely right however that it plays both ways - we don't actually yet know enough - but something happened.
- danieltillett 10y agoWe have evidence from other mammals and all other cases a strong Y-chromosome bottleneck is the result of harem male behaviour. If I had to bet I would say the bottleneck was driven by powerful males monopolising females, not females all choosing a small number of males.