LM3 in Paleoanthropology

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA, for AHunter:

http://www.mitotyping.com/aboutmt.html

Recently mtDNA was extracted and sequenced from a Neanderthal skeleton.

http://www.glenn.morton.btinternet.co.uk/neandna.htm

I have finally gotten my hands on the Neanderthal DNA articles from Cell (Krings, et al. 1997; Lindahl, 1997). The authors do an excellent job of addressing the questions a skeptic might ask of their results. They used multiple control mechanisms, such as repeating the DNA extraction at two different laboratories, using different experimental techniques, only using data which was experimentally duplicated, etc. In short, I am convinced that they did every thing they could to ensure no contamination and to rule out errors. I believe that they did in fact isolate Neanderthal mtDNA.

http://www.psu.edu/ur/NEWS/news/Neandertal.html

7-11-97
University Park, Pa. – A team of U.S. and German researchers has extracted mitochondrial DNA from Neandertal bone showing that the Neandertal DNA sequence falls outside the normal variation of modern humans.

“These results indicate that Neandertals did not contribute mitochondrial DNA to modern humans,” says Dr. Mark Stoneking, associate professor of anthropology at Penn State. “Neandertals are not our ancestors.”

The research also reaffirms the origins of modern humans in Africa. Reporting in today’s (July 11) issue of the journal Cell, the researchers detail their methods and the results of analysis of Neandertal mitochondrial DNA. The research team includes Matthias Krings, graduate student, and Dr. Svante Paabo, professor of zoology, University of Munich; Dr. Ann Stone, postdoctoral fellow, University of Arizona; Ralf W. Schmitz and Heike Krainitzki of Rhineland Museum, Bonn, Germany; and Stoneking.

Current theory holds that Neandertals became extinct only 30,000 years ago and co-existed with modern humans in Europe. The team, however, found that Neandertals and modern humans diverged genetically 500,000 to 600,000 years ago, suggesting that though they may have lived at the same time, Neandertals did not contribute genetic material to modern humans.
<snip>
This specimen was found in 1856 near Dusseldorf, Germany. As a part of this project, a sample was removed for DNA analysis.

And from a different specimen:

DNA Tests: Humans Not Descended from Neanderthals

By Kenneth Chang

March 28 — DNA from the bones of a Neanderthal baby who died 29,000 years ago offers further evidence that Neanderthals are cousins rather than ancestors of modern humans.

Writing in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature, William Goodwin of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, along with collaborators from Russia and Sweden, report that the baby’s DNA is much more similar to another Neanderthal DNA sequence reported in 1997 than to that of modern humans.
<snip>
The baby, found in Russia’s Caucasus Mountains, has been estimated in age at somewhere between an unborn 7-month-old fetus and a newborn of a couple of months.

[Jois]

Nicely done, Skulldigger and Polycarp.

This: So effectively the disagreement comes down to whether the actual ancestors of modern man made the transition from H. erectus to H. sapiens before or after they migrated outside Africa." is what I think it will come down to at some later date, when the extravagant claims die down on both sides. But when will that be!

Wolpoff Hawks have a “Brief Communication” Paleoanthropology and the Population Genetics of Ancient Genes (American Journal of Physical Anthropology (114:269-272 (2001)) - I can’t find a way to post the abstract, but it goes casting doubt on the Mezmaiskaya cave infant as a Neanderthal. It seems so reckless. Will fossils ever be anything but bones of contention? If the professionals can’t identify the fossils, anyone can speculate anything. It is a shame for it seems that it will eventually be population genetics that provides meaningful data about our origins.

toadspittle: “Still not sure what you’re getting at, Jois. Are you just asking how the Mungo Man discovery affects current viewpoints on MREH and OoA?”

Yes, Toadspittle, that’s about it. I think one consequence will be a shift to Asia as the main field inquiry for MREH with less emphasis on Neanderthals. In the article mentioned above (page 272): “Multiregional evolution could be correct even if all Neanderthals became excinct without descendents, because it does not require evolution without replacement in every region.” (** = italics) Fossil preservation is rather poor and it is a great area for speculation. There won’t be nearly the oportunity for DNA sequencing, for example.

Jois