Abstract
Anatomically modern humans replaced Neanderthals in Europe around 40,000 years ago. The demise of the Neanderthals and the nature of the possible relationship with anatomically modern humans has captured our imagination and stimulated research for more than a century now. Recent chronological studies suggest a possible overlap between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans of more than 5,000 years. Analyses of ancient genome sequences from both groups have shown that they interbred multiple times, including in Europe. A potential place of interbreeding is the notable Palaeolithic site of Riparo Mezzena in Northern Italy. In order to improve our understanding of prehistoric occupation at Mezzena, we analysed the human mandible and several cranial fragments from the site using radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA, ZooMS and isotope analyses. We also performed a more detailed investigation of the lithic assemblage of layer I. Surprisingly we found that the Riparo Mezzena mandible is not from a Neanderthal but belonged to an anatomically modern human. Furthermore, we found no evidence for the presence of Neanderthal remains among 11 of the 13 cranial and post-cranial fragments re-investigated in this study.
Highlights
The process of replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans around 40,000 years ago in Western Eurasia is one of the most disputed topics in the field of Palaeoanthropology
Where archaeological and radiometric studies suggest local coexistence of anatomically modern humans and late Neanderthals. These studies were later bolstered by the morphological and palaeogenetic analysis of a fragmentary mandible recovered at the site (IGVR 203334), which was hypothesized to represent the remains of a Neanderthal whose ancestors had interbred with anatomically modern humans[8]
Retrieval of Neanderthal mitochondrial and nuclear DNA was reported for MLS 319, and a short Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence was obtained from the mandible[8]
Summary
The process of replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans around 40,000 years ago in Western Eurasia is one of the most disputed topics in the field of Palaeoanthropology. The evidence regarding the age of the material is based only on a single radiocarbon date (RTT-5578: 14C Age 34,540 ± 655; (68.2%) 39,870-38,420 calibrated years before present (cal BP); (95.4%) 40,780-37,480 cal BP) obtained on a bovid bone from layer III7 This faunal sample was not directly associated with the human remains of layer I, but came from the lowermost part of the Mezzena sequence. The unexpected results of this radiocarbon study urged us to undertake additional analyses, including ancient protein analysis with ZooMS (“Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry”), extraction of ancient DNA and a re-assessment of the lithic assemblage from layer I, from which the human remains originated The results of this interdisciplinary work are presented in this paper
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