The last Neanderthals in northwestern Europe had greater genetic diversity than previously thought

Is the study of high quality?

“Yes, it is a serious piece of work undertaken primarily by a group of paleogeneticists with extensive experience and strong ties to research groups working on this topic.”

Are there any limitations to keep in mind?

“Yes, I regret having to make the same point again: the lack of integration of genetic data with the archaeological information we have on this area of study. Generally, studies published in high-impact journals tend to prioritize information obtained through genetic analyses over comprehensive studies or those that take archaeological data into account. This does not detract from the value of this study, which is undoubtedly of great interest on a genetic scale.”

What are its implications, and how does it fit with existing evidence?

“It’s very interesting because it allows us to understand demographic and behavioral models that can be correlated with variables on an archaeological scale and contribute to our understanding of the processes of territorialization, mobility, and extinction in these groups.”

The study argues that Neanderthals were genetically diverse, which contradicts the notion that low genetic variability was the main cause of their extinction. Could this finding change the theory regarding the end of the Neanderthals?

“The degree of variability and its relationship to the isolation of these groups is not entirely clear. In any case, the study leaves the door open to considering cultural factors as triggers for the process of extinction and isolation, and rules out other previous proposals.”

The study reveals new insights into Neanderthal genetics, whilst also improving the quality of the genetic data we previously had, thanks to new nuclear DNA data. It is interesting to note that the integration of palaeoanthropology, genetics and sulphur levels in their bones reveals, to some extent, the social structure and mobility patterns of the last groups of this species.

The findings provide a benchmark for understanding the genetic diversity of late Neanderthals shortly before their extinction and, to some extent, for ruling out low genetic variability as a reason for their extinction – or, at least, as a universal cause across the entire continent. However, in this case, we will have to wait for genetic data from other regions to determine whether this characteristic was unique to the Meuse Basin or to the whole of Eurasia.

The authors suggest that the climatic fluctuations of this period must have had an impact on these final populations. Other recently published studies suggest that in areas where climatic fluctuations caused greater disruption to ecosystems, Neanderthals disappeared earlier, whilst in areas where such disruptions were less pronounced, they survived for longer, even co-existing with H. sapiens. It appears that the region spanning France and Belgium acted, to some extent, as an area of geographical isolation, as no genetic interbreeding between Neanderthals and H. sapiens has been found in these individuals.

New nuclear DNA data from other European regions will help provide a more detailed understanding of the genetic diversity of the last Neanderthal populations prior to their extinction.

The study is technically sound and significant because it greatly expands the available genetic information on the last Neanderthals of north-western Europe. Its main finding is that these groups do not appear to show extreme inbreeding or a progressive loss of genetic diversity. In other words, they do not fit well with the idea of genetically depleted late Neanderthals.

The main implication is that the final history of the Neanderthals was more complex than an explanation based solely on low genetic diversity would suggest. Some populations, such as those in the Altai, do appear to have been highly isolated and inbred, but others, such as these from north-western Europe, were more connected.

Consequently, the study does not rule out the importance of genetics in the Neanderthal disappearance, but it does undermine the idea that low genetic variability was the sole cause of their extinction. Rather, it points to a multifactorial explanation: low population density, territorial fragmentation, environmental changes, interaction with Homo sapiens and perhaps social or cultural differences.

The data suggest that the last Neanderthals were more closely connected to one another and exhibited greater genetic diversity than had previously been suggested. This finding calls into question the hypothesis that inbreeding and genetic deterioration were the main factors responsible for their extinction.

Perhaps the main limitation of the study is that it reflects the reality of a specific region in Western Europe. However, its findings reinforce an increasingly evident trend: the extinction of the Neanderthals can hardly be explained by a single cause.