The bones of a 45,000-year-old baby, believed to be from a previously unknown early lineage of Homo sapiens, have been discovered in the Grotte du Renne in France.
The cave has been found to contain numerous bones and artifacts that provide evidence of Neanderthal survival, but why were the bones of early homo sapiens found in this cave?
Apparently, the baby bones were most likely of Neanderthal admixture.
Chaterperon culture found in the Rennes Cave
The Rennes Cave (Rennes means reindeer in French), located in the Yonne department of the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region of France, is one of the most intriguing Paleolithic sites in Europe that has aroused the interest of experts.
It was inhabited at the turn of the last millennium, when Homo sapiens replaced Neanderthals.
A large number of stone tools representing the Chaterperon culture have been found in the cave.
The Chaterperon culture was a Paleolithic culture that flourished in Western Europe between 36,000 and 32,000 years ago. In addition to stone tools, other artifacts such as ivory beads, animal teeth drilled into holes, and dwellings that may have been supported by mammoth tusks have been found.
Until now, only Neanderthal remains have been unearthed in the Lenne Cave.
However, the identity of the people who created this culture is unclear. Some say it was Neanderthal, while others believe it was our own culture.
However, until now, the only bodies excavated in the Caves of Rennes have been those of Neanderthals. If so, is the Châteller-Peron culture still a Neanderthal culture?
However, it has now been discovered that some of the bones found there belonged to early Homo sapiens babies.
Bones of an Unknown Incipient Human Found in Neanderthal Cave
The baby bones, thought to be from an early lineage of Homo sapiens, are from the ilium (part of the hip bone).
When these bones were compared to those of two Neanderthal children and 32 modern human newborns, it is clear that the shape is very different from that of the Neanderthals.
If anything, they are closer to those of modern humans. However, a closer look reveals that they are also different from modern humans' newborns.
Possible Neanderthal admixture.
This suggests that the baby's bones may belong to a previously unknown early lineage of Homo sapiens.
The discovery "changes our previous understanding of early human migration to Europe," said Mateja Heidinjak, an associate researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, who led the study.
The team says the unknown bone is most likely the child of Neanderthals, who lived in Eurasia at the turn of the Middle to Late Stone Age, between 41,000 and 45,000 years ago, when Neanderthals and modern humans migrated from Africa and lived in the same place. The Neanderthals lived in the same place as the present-day humans who migrated from Africa.
In the Bachokilo Cave in Bulgaria, three bones of a Homo sapiens male from about 45,000 years ago have been found to contain Neanderthal DNA.
Perhaps this could be evidence that the present humans who migrated to Europe are more interbred with Neanderthals than previously thought.
If so, then it may have been both Neanderthals and the present humans that fostered the Chaterperon culture.
According to the research team, the Chaterperon culture may be a culture developed by two societies influencing each other.
Incidentally, past research has also indicated that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals would have had a physical relationship. Ironically, this may have even been the cause of the Neanderthal's demise.
The study was published in Scientific Reports (August 4, 2023).
References:Genome analysis reveals unknown ancient human migration in Europe / 45,000-Year-Old Baby In Neanderthal Cave Belonged To Unknown Human Lineage | IFLScience
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