At https://phys.org/news/2022-10-ancient-humans-co-existence-modern-neanderthals.html … quoting an article in Scientific Reports. What exactly are modern Neanderthals coexisting with ancient humans? Wrong way round in the title but never mind. Basically, the research claims Neanderthals and modern humans lived alongside each other in France and Spain for up to 2900 years, according to a modeling exercise. What goes into the model comes out of the other end, I suppose. The intention is to provide a time period to plank the pet theory, that modern humans interbred with Neanderthals shortly after Out of Africa theory. The preferred option is that interbreeding took place shortly after the arrival of Out of Africa immigrants. It has a nice modern political ring to it. Neanderthals, let us remember, are considered inferior to modern humans. However, they admit the new study did NOT provide evidence that Neanderthals and modern humans interacted with each other. That idea is conjectural. A recent study showed that Neanderthals had genes no different from modern humans on the male side. Interbreeding is the preferred explanation. However, the possibility that Neanderthals became modern humans is not on the agenda for some reason, even though it would explain the modern human DNA imprint. The study authors are pushing their pet theory and do not mention evidence of modern human contact much earlier than 40,000 years ago. The claim is that previous genetic research has shown they must have interbred. Not true. It only showed Neanderthals had modern human genes, which is a mystery. The idea of interbreeding is a uniformitarian cop-out. The assumption, prior to the answer, is that Neanderthals were biologically inferior to modern humans. Because they say so. Admitting that Neanderthals were also modern humans is not allowed. It would, for example, blow the theory of Out of Africa out of the water. It would also raise a question mark over human evolution – stage by stage. The Neanderthals represent an important part of that construct – and have done so since their discovery in the 19th century. It is absolutely imperative that Neanderthals are regarded as inferior. There is no room for an alternative point of view. The idea that Neanderthals may have been decimated by a catastrophic event around 40,000 years ago is regarded as absurd – in spite of massive loss of life amongst other mammal species at that point in time, or in the following 10,000 years. Then we have the mysterious Laschamp Event – an electro-magnetic effect of the catastrophe.
The 40,000 years ago event hinders the ability of C14 methodology to date anything earlier. It is the upper limit of the methodology. The limit has recently been raised to 42,000 years ago due to Bayesian averaging. This means it captured some old C14 dates within the new C14 umbrella around 40,000 years ago. Logic would demand the Laschamp Event seriously hinders any attempt to use C14 methodology at this point in time – but that is ignored. It is just as likely the 40,000 years ago event took place a few thousand years prior to that time period as a result of the electro magnetic changes inaugurated as a result of Laschamp. You can read up on the latter by subscribing to SIS journals or by putting Laschamp Event into your search engine. The idea that such a pulse could not affect C14 methodology is an anomaly. It is in fact, convenient to ignore it as they are defending the mainstream point of view. Modeling a collection of old C14 dates that fall into the extended period of time created by Bayesian averaging simply confuses what really happened. The Neanderthals disappeared, we know, but where did the newcomers arrive from? Could it be they were the offspring of the pockets of survivors of the catastrophe that included the Laschamp electro magnetic anomalies [which include a full reversal that eventually returned to start]. Obviously, this field is still wide open. We can expect new studies from researchers with a different take on the subject. The idea of catastrophic events remains out of bounds so one can hardly expect this to be on the agenda, however worthy or otherwise.
The study does provide an interesting correlation in that Neanderthals, before their demise, were producing artifacts and tools that were similar to those of the modern humans that succeeded them. They suggest this was due to interaction when just as easily they could have been Neanderthal improvements. See https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19162-z …