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Neanderthal extinction by competitive exclusion
Banks, William E. D'Errico, Francesco Peterson, A. Townsend Kageyama, Masa Sima, Adriana Sanchez-Goni, Maria-Fernanda
Banks, William E.
D'Errico, Francesco
Peterson, A. Townsend
Kageyama, Masa
Sima, Adriana
Sanchez-Goni, Maria-Fernanda
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Abstract
Background
Despite a long history of investigation, considerable debate revolves around whether Neanderthals became extinct because of climate change or competition with anatomically modern humans (AMH).
Methodology/Principal Findings
We apply a new methodology integrating archaeological and chronological data with high-resolution paleoclimatic simulations to define eco-cultural niches associated with Neanderthal and AMH adaptive systems during alternating cold and mild phases of Marine Isotope Stage 3. Our results indicate that Neanderthals and AMH exploited similar niches, and may have continued to do so in the absence of contact.
Conclusions/Significance
The southerly contraction of Neanderthal range in southwestern Europe during Greenland Interstadial 8 was not due to climate change or a change in adaptation, but rather concurrent AMH geographic expansion appears to have produced competition that led to Neanderthal extinction.
Description
Date
2008-12-24
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Publisher
Public Library of Science
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Betal_PLOSONE_2008.pdf
Adobe PDF, 1.34 MB
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Keywords
Ecological niche modeling, Neanderthal, Extinction
Citation
Banks WE, d'Errico F, Peterson AT, Kageyama M, Sima A, et al. (2008) Neanderthal extinction by competitive exclusion. PLoS ONE 3(12): e3972. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003972