This is problematic because it only explains the "extinction" of European Homo Sapeins. No the populations that continued to live in thrive on the African continent. Who never crossbreed with Neanderthal populations. B
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The more I think about it, the more problematic it becomes. Either the article or the source material itself is written in such a way that the implications become a.) Only those with trace Neanderthal DNA are Homo Sapien or b) The only Homo Sapien group that needed to crossbreed were Europeans.
I thought the implication was that the only way Homo Sapiens survived out of Africa was by interbreeding with Neanderthals, populating the European continent failed before. "Perhaps getting Neanderthal DNA was part of the success because it gave us better adaptive capabilities outside of Africa"
But were human, never became extinct and didn't "need" Neanderthal DNA to survive in any of Earth's ecosystems. Just as aboriginal Australians didn't. But the article clearly implies that crossbreeding with Neanderthals was key for humanity's survival. So, are Africans not human?
I think they clearly say that Neanderthal DNA was necessary for humanity’s survival *in Europe* as early migrations weren’t able to survive the environment without the adaptations Neanderthals had evolved from living there
also Aboriginal Australians do have Neanderthal DNA (as well as Denisovian)
There probably were not any Neandertal/sapiens sapiens crossbreeding *in Africa*, as assumedly there were no Neandertal population in Africa at the time.
That doesn't mean that Africans don't have Neandertal DNA (just on average less of it).
The article goes on to say that present Neanderthal DNA is the result of crossbreeding with returning Europeans only over the past 20k years. Not that ancestral Africans crossbreed with Neanderthals.
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also Aboriginal Australians do have Neanderthal DNA (as well as Denisovian)
That doesn't mean that Africans don't have Neandertal DNA (just on average less of it).
https://www.science.org/content/article/africans-carry-surprising-amount-neanderthal-dna
But people of all subspecies move, including into Africa, and as the article mentioned any genetic advantage and disadvantage move with them.