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HN's life span
Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:10 am
by Rokcet Scientist
Life Span of Early Man Same as Neanderthals’
Longevity in early modern humans and in Neanderthals was about the same, according to a new study, suggesting that long life was not what helped the population of early modern humans increase.
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Erik Trinkaus, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis and the study’s author, reported his findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“There must have been something else happening because the populations of early modern humans were expanding,” he said. “The last Neanderthal we know of lived about 40,000 years ago.” [...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/scien ... ef=science
Re: HN's life span
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 4:26 am
by Digit
Long life is irrelevant in the context of population growth. Rather it's a case of how many off spring you produce and how many survive to breeding age.
Roy.
Re: HN's life span
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 4:38 am
by Rokcet Scientist
Digit wrote:Long life is irrelevant in the context of population growth. Rather it's a case of how many off spring you produce and how many survive to breeding age.
I see you read the article:
With longevity being equal, scientists may need to better understand fertility rates and infant mortality rates to determine why human populations expanded and thrived while Neanderthals dwindled to extinction.
“It means that we need to look for the reasons elsewhere, of which survival rates for children may be one answer”
Note: it may be
one answer.
Re: HN's life span
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 4:59 am
by Digit
I read it elswhere actually RS, and I wrote that to lead onto a further point not covered.
If HSN established small family groups that were monogamus and HSS did not, then depending on male/female ratios, any given population of HSS would have more off spring.
If HSS established a creche sytem the same would apply, thus social mores may have been more important than longevity or infant mortality.
We will be unlikely to know.
Roy.
Re: HN's life span
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 9:05 am
by Minimalist
And yet again all of this assumes that HNS actually went extinct rather than being absorbed.
Re: HN's life span
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 9:44 am
by Digit
It does indeed Min, but old habits die hard don't they?
Roy.
Re: HN's life span
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:19 am
by Minimalist
Without a doubt.
Re: HN's life span
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 11:10 am
by Rokcet Scientist
Minimalist wrote:And yet again all of this assumes that HNS actually went extinct rather than being absorbed.
As usual it's not a question of either/or, gentlemen. BOTH happened. Pure HN went extinct. The others weren't pure anymore as they were absorbed in HS...
Re: HN's life span
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 11:16 am
by Digit
Which automatically means that HSS is not pure either, thus if you read some of my earliest posts on this forum RS you will that I have argued from day one thay we are hybrids.
Roy.