Neanderthals vanished from Northwest Europe earlier than previously thought
In short: Researchers who re-examined fossil remains from Belgium found that Neanderthals disappeared from Northwest Europe much earlier than once believed. By using advanced dating techniques to avoid contamination, the team discovered that these hominins vanished between 44,200 and 40,600 years ago, rather than as recently as 23,880 years ago.
This study refines our understanding of when Neanderthals left Eurasia by addressing errors in previous dating methods. By using a compound-specific approach to remove contamination, researchers corrected dates that were inaccurately young by up to 10,000 years.
The study relied on archaeological analysis of specimens from Spy, Engis, and Fonds-de-Forêt, but the findings are limited to these specific Northwest European sites.
Why it matters: Robust pretreatment in radiocarbon dating is essential for accurate models of species disappearance.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Research: Deviese et al. (2021). Reevaluating the timing of Neanderthal disappearance in Northwest Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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