Bringing 48,000-Year-Old Gnashers to Your Mantle Piece
The lead author of the new paper, physical anthropologist Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum , explained to
BBC Science that the results from the new analysis of the La Cotte individuals teeth suggest they “could have had a dual Neanderthal–modern human ancestry.” Jersey Heritage curator, Olga Finch, said the La Cotte de St Brelade site is “of huge importance and it continues to reveal stories about our ancient predecessors.” In a
Daily Mail article, archaeologist and dig leader Matt Pope, of the University College London , explains that “this work offers us a glimpse of a new and intriguing population of Neanderthal people and opens the door to a new phase of discovery at the site.”
BBC News
Published
image captionThe Neanderthal specimens have some features that are more characteristic of modern human teeth
Prehistoric teeth unearthed at a site in Jersey reveal signs of interbreeding between Neanderthals and our own species, scientists say.
UK experts re-studied 13 teeth found between 1910 and 1911 at La Cotte de St Brelade in the island s south-west.
They were long regarded as being typical Neanderthal specimens, but the reassessment also uncovered features characteristic of modern human teeth.
The teeth may represent some of the last known Neanderthal remains.
As such, they might even yield clues to what caused the disappearance of our close evolutionary cousins.
Harry Pettit, Senior Digital Technology and Science Reporter
1 Feb 2021, 11:22
Updated: 1 Feb 2021, 11:31
ANCIENT humans regularly bonked with Neanderthals, an analysis of 45,000-year-old Neanderthal teeth has revealed.
The assortment of 11 pearly whites found in a cave in Jersey have a mix of Neanderthal and human features, suggesting the two species interbred.
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An analysis of Neanderthal teeth has revealed that the extinct species commonly interbred with our ancient human ancestorsCredit: Compton et al. / Journal of Human Evolution The teeth from both individuals have some features which are typically Neanderthal and others which are typically anatomically modern human, said Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum.
Ancient teeth suggest Neanderthals and Homo sapiens got it on more than a few times
The teeth had been discovered over a century ago, but researchers are now seeing them in a new light.
Ancient teeth gathered a century ago hint at a hybrid population of Neanderthals and modern humans on the islands between France and Britain. This adds to existing evidence that the two groups interbred multiple times across history.
Some of the Neanderthal teeth recovered from La Cotte de St Brelade. Image credits: Compton et al (2021),
Journal of Human Evolution.
What you can learn from teeth
Neanderthals emerged some 400,000 years ago, coming to dominate a vast swath stretching from Western Europe to deep Siberia. They were a bit shorter and stockier than Homo sapiens, but otherwise, the two are very similar. Anthropologists have increasingly shown that Neanderthals weren’t the brutes they were once believed to be: they were every bit as smart and cunning as Homo sapiens.