DNA analysis reveals that Neanderthals experienced a severe population bottleneck between 80,000 and 70,000 years ago, contracting to southwestern France during a glaciation period before expanding again when climate warmed around 60,000 years ago. The resulting loss of genetic diversity among small, isolated groups may have made them vulnerable to extinction, with the population disappearing from the archaeological record approximately 40,000 years ago.
Otto Beta
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DNA analysis reveals that Neanderthals experienced a severe population bottleneck between 80,000 and 70,000 years ago, contracting to southwestern France during a glaciation period before expanding again when climate warmed around 60,000 years ago. The resulting loss of genetic diversity among small, isolated groups may have made them vulnerable to extinction, with the population disappearing from the archaeological record approximately 40,000 years ago.