Title: “Groundbreaking Research Reveals Ancient Human Population Bottleneck and its Impact on Evolution”
Date: August 31, 2023
A significant breakthrough in human evolution research has revealed a severe bottleneck in the human population during the early to middle Pleistocene era, nearly wiping out humanity as we know it today. Researchers from China, Italy, and the United States utilized an innovative method called FitCoal, which analyzed genomic sequences from 3,154 individuals to accurately determine demographic inferences.
The bottleneck lasted for a staggering 117,000 years and was sustained by a mere 1,280 breeding individuals. What makes this method truly groundbreaking is its ability to detect ancient severe bottlenecks, even with just a few sequences.
The researchers found that this population bottleneck coincided with a gap in the African/Eurasian fossil record during the Early Stone Age, suggesting that climatic changes, such as glaciation events and severe droughts, may have played a critical role in the decline of the human ancestral population.
The consequences of this bottleneck led to the loss of approximately 65.85% of the current genetic diversity, showcasing the significant impact it had on the genetic makeup of humans today. However, there is a potential silver lining as the bottleneck may have triggered a speciation event, resulting in the formation of chromosome 2 in modern humans. This unique chromosome potentially links the last common ancestor of Denisovans, Neanderthals, and modern humans.
This groundbreaking research raises new questions regarding the living conditions of these individuals, their ability to adapt to the changing climate, and whether natural selection accelerated the evolution of the human brain during this period.
It is speculated that the control of fire and the presence of a more hospitable climate around 813,000 years ago may have contributed to a rapid population increase. However, more research is needed to understand this fully.
Jointly led by researchers from the Sinology Institute of Natural History (SINH-CAS) and East China Normal University (ECNU), this study marks not only a new field in human evolution research but also aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of human evolution during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition period.
The research, led by Wangjie Hu and Ziqian Hao from other institutions, received important contributions from collaborators at various institutions and was published in Science on August 31, 2023.
Ultimately, the goal of this research is to unravel the mystery of early human ancestry and evolution, shedding light on the profound changes that shaped the human species we recognize today.
