Roger Lee
Tue, Jan-16-07, 17:17
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070116/ap_on_sc/humans_neanderth-
als
> Skull suggests human-Neanderthal link
>
> By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 15,
> 11:25 PM ET
>
> WASHINGTON - A skull found in a cave in Romania includes
> features of both modern humans and Neanderthals, possibly
> suggesting that the two may have interbred thousands of
> years ago.
>
> Neanderthals were replaced by early modern humans.
> Researchers have long debated whether the two groups mixed
> together, though most doubt it. The last evidence for
> Neanderthals dates from at least 24,000 years ago.
>
> The skull bearing both older and modern characteristics is
> discussed in a paper by Erik Trinkaus of Washington
> University in St. Louis. The report appears in Tuesday's
> issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
>
> The skull was found in Pestera cu Oase — the Cave with Bones
> — in southwestern Romania, along with other human remains.
> Radiocarbon dating indicates it is at least 35,000 years old
> and may be more than 40,000 years old.
>
> The researchers said the skull had the same proportions as a
> modern human head and lacked the large brow ridge commonly
> associated with Neanderthals. However, there were also
> features that are unusual in modern humans, such as frontal
> flattening, a fairly large bone behind the ear and
> exceptionally large upper molars, which are seen among
> Neanderthals and other early hominids.
>
> "Such differences raise important questions about the
> evolutionary history of modern humans," said co-author Joao
> Zilhao of the University of Bristol, England.
>
> It could reflect a case in which ancient traits reappear in
> a modern human, or it could indicate a mixture of
> populations, Zilhao said. Or it simply may be that science
> hasn't been able to study enough early modern people to
> understand their diversity.
>
> Dr. Richard Potts of the Smithsonian's National Museum of
> Natural History noted that the skull represents the
> earliest modern human ever found in Europe.
>
> It's a big deal in that sense, he said, but the combination
> of characteristics don't necessarily indicate interbreeding
> between populations.
>
> Overall there is no strong evidence for mixing of
> Neanderthal and modern human populations and "this doesn't
> add any," said Potts, who wasn't part of the research team.
>
> None of the features cited as unusual in modern humans is
> exclusively Neanderthal, Potts said. Rather, they could be
> features passed down from earlier populations in Africa.
>
> The field work that uncovered the skull was conducted in
> 2004 and 2005.
>
> Meanwhile, a research team led by Svante Paabo of the Max
> Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig,
> Germany, is trying to map the Neanderthal genome in hopes
> of better understanding any possible relationship to
> modern people.
>
> The research was funded by the U.S. National Science
> Foundation, the Wenner-Green Foundation, Washington
> University, the Leakey Foundation, the Portuguese Institute
> of Archaeology, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural
> Science, the Romanian National Council for Academic Research
> and the Foundation Fyssen.
als
> Skull suggests human-Neanderthal link
>
> By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 15,
> 11:25 PM ET
>
> WASHINGTON - A skull found in a cave in Romania includes
> features of both modern humans and Neanderthals, possibly
> suggesting that the two may have interbred thousands of
> years ago.
>
> Neanderthals were replaced by early modern humans.
> Researchers have long debated whether the two groups mixed
> together, though most doubt it. The last evidence for
> Neanderthals dates from at least 24,000 years ago.
>
> The skull bearing both older and modern characteristics is
> discussed in a paper by Erik Trinkaus of Washington
> University in St. Louis. The report appears in Tuesday's
> issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
>
> The skull was found in Pestera cu Oase — the Cave with Bones
> — in southwestern Romania, along with other human remains.
> Radiocarbon dating indicates it is at least 35,000 years old
> and may be more than 40,000 years old.
>
> The researchers said the skull had the same proportions as a
> modern human head and lacked the large brow ridge commonly
> associated with Neanderthals. However, there were also
> features that are unusual in modern humans, such as frontal
> flattening, a fairly large bone behind the ear and
> exceptionally large upper molars, which are seen among
> Neanderthals and other early hominids.
>
> "Such differences raise important questions about the
> evolutionary history of modern humans," said co-author Joao
> Zilhao of the University of Bristol, England.
>
> It could reflect a case in which ancient traits reappear in
> a modern human, or it could indicate a mixture of
> populations, Zilhao said. Or it simply may be that science
> hasn't been able to study enough early modern people to
> understand their diversity.
>
> Dr. Richard Potts of the Smithsonian's National Museum of
> Natural History noted that the skull represents the
> earliest modern human ever found in Europe.
>
> It's a big deal in that sense, he said, but the combination
> of characteristics don't necessarily indicate interbreeding
> between populations.
>
> Overall there is no strong evidence for mixing of
> Neanderthal and modern human populations and "this doesn't
> add any," said Potts, who wasn't part of the research team.
>
> None of the features cited as unusual in modern humans is
> exclusively Neanderthal, Potts said. Rather, they could be
> features passed down from earlier populations in Africa.
>
> The field work that uncovered the skull was conducted in
> 2004 and 2005.
>
> Meanwhile, a research team led by Svante Paabo of the Max
> Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig,
> Germany, is trying to map the Neanderthal genome in hopes
> of better understanding any possible relationship to
> modern people.
>
> The research was funded by the U.S. National Science
> Foundation, the Wenner-Green Foundation, Washington
> University, the Leakey Foundation, the Portuguese Institute
> of Archaeology, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural
> Science, the Romanian National Council for Academic Research
> and the Foundation Fyssen.