3 ms·

I wonder how neanderthal genetics varied from locality to locality. Presumably those in Russia were somewhat different to those in e.g. Gibralter.

dahfizz 6y ago
My understanding is that Neanderthals didn't occupy that large of a region. There are ancient human ancestors all over the globe but actual Homo neanderthalensis did not leave modern day Europe. It is actually thought that this could have contributed to their decline. Compare with modern day humans who explored the whole globe: some ancient dude even paddled his way to Australia! It's hard for a species that widespread to go extinct.
- dalbasal 6y ago
  Homo Neanderthalis has been found in europe, the middle east, the altai mountains, armenia and other places. The were widespread, and interbred with sapiens, denisovans and probably other types. There is even renewed interest in finding American and/or Australian neanderthals and denisovans... As the known range has grown, those seem more plausible.
dalbasal 6y ago
Probably a lot. First, neanderthals were closely related to Denisovans. In Denisova cave itself, both neanderthals & denisovans were found and even a first generation hybrid. So.. you could call it a denisovan-neanderthal complex with various subpopulations over time and geography. The altai neanderthals have been suggested as a subspecies/type... so there are differences there. In europe and the middle east, there's a decent phenotypical distinction between early and late (classical) neanderthals. The earlier type was less distinctively neanderthal... kind of more sapien looking. Later populations developed that distinctively bony face. ..Sapiens too, probably. We descend mostly from a small population of sapiens, but that doesn't mean other populations didn't exist. They just don't have descendants. For example, modern europeans have a relatively homogenous, low level of neanderthal DNA. At different points of history, certain populations could have ben 25% neanderthal... and genetically distinct from other groups. This is all normal mammalian population dynamics. Modern Sapiens are the unusual ones. We went through a genetic bottleneck and lost a lot of diversity.

dahfizz 6y ago

My understanding is that Neanderthals didn't occupy that large of a region. There are ancient human ancestors all over the globe but actual Homo neanderthalensis did not leave modern day Europe. It is actually thought that this could have contributed to their decline. Compare with modern day humans who explored the whole globe: some ancient dude even paddled his way to Australia! It's hard for a species that widespread to go extinct.

dalbasal 6y ago
Homo Neanderthalis has been found in europe, the middle east, the altai mountains, armenia and other places. The were widespread, and interbred with sapiens, denisovans and probably other types. There is even renewed interest in finding American and/or Australian neanderthals and denisovans... As the known range has grown, those seem more plausible.

dalbasal 6y ago

Probably a lot. First, neanderthals were closely related to Denisovans. In Denisova cave itself, both neanderthals & denisovans were found and even a first generation hybrid. So.. you could call it a denisovan-neanderthal complex with various subpopulations over time and geography. The altai neanderthals have been suggested as a subspecies/type... so there are differences there. In europe and the middle east, there's a decent phenotypical distinction between early and late (classical) neanderthals. The earlier type was less distinctively neanderthal... kind of more sapien looking. Later populations developed that distinctively bony face. ..Sapiens too, probably. We descend mostly from a small population of sapiens, but that doesn't mean other populations didn't exist. They just don't have descendants. For example, modern europeans have a relatively homogenous, low level of neanderthal DNA. At different points of history, certain populations could have ben 25% neanderthal... and genetically distinct from other groups. This is all normal mammalian population dynamics. Modern Sapiens are the unusual ones. We went through a genetic bottleneck and lost a lot of diversity.