Tenfold population increase in Western Europe at the Neandertal-to-modern human transition

Science. 2011 Jul 29;333(6042):623-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1206930.

Abstract

European Neandertals were replaced by modern human populations from Africa ~40,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence from the best-documented region of Europe shows that during this replacement human populations increased by one order of magnitude, suggesting that numerical supremacy alone may have been a critical factor in facilitating this replacement.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Archaeology
  • Fossils
  • France
  • Hominidae*
  • Humans
  • Population Density*
  • Population Dynamics*
  • Population Growth*
  • Time
  • Tool Use Behavior