Neanderthal Inner Ears Uncover Evolutionary Catastrophe
Recent research suggests that Neanderthals experienced a single major population bottleneck during their evolution, challenging previous beliefs of multiple diversity drops. Analysis of inner ear structures indicates that the significant decline in morphological diversity occurred later in their history, likely due to climatic upheavals, rather than at their origin. These findings highlight the complex, layered nature of human evolution, involving migrations, local extinctions, and interbreeding, and emphasize the importance of integrating fossil and genetic data for a comprehensive understanding.
