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Merging morphological and genetic evidence to assess hybridization in Western Eurasian late Pleistocene hominins

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 6, pages 1573–1585 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Previous scientific consensus saw human evolution as defined by adaptive differences (behavioural and/or biological) and the emergence of Homo sapiens as the ultimate replacement of non-modern groups by a modern, adaptively more competitive group. However, recent research has shown that the process underlying our origins was considerably more complex. While archaeological and fossil evidence suggests that behavioural complexity may not be confined to the modern human lineage, recent palaeogenomic work shows that gene flow between distinct lineages (for example, Neanderthals, Denisovans, early H. sapiens) occurred repeatedly in the late Pleistocene, probably contributing elements to our genetic make-up that might have been crucial to our success as a diverse, adaptable species. Following these advances, the prevailing human origins model has shifted from one of near-complete replacement to a more nuanced view of partial replacement with considerable reticulation. Here we provide a brief introduction to the current genetic evidence for hybridization among hominins, its prevalence in, and effects on, comparative mammal groups, and especially how it manifests in the skull. We then explore the degree to which cranial variation seen in the fossil record of late Pleistocene hominins from Western Eurasia corresponds with our current genetic and comparative data. We are especially interested in understanding the degree to which skeletal data can reflect admixture. Our findings indicate some correspondence between these different lines of evidence, flag individual fossils as possibly admixed, and suggest that different cranial regions may preserve hybridization signals differentially. We urge further studies of the phenotype to expand our ability to detect the ways in which migration, interaction and genetic exchange have shaped the human past, beyond what is currently visible with the lens of ancient DNA.

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Fig. 1: Principal components analyses of mouse skulls.
Fig. 2: Localities for Pleistocene fossil hominin specimens used in the analyses.
Fig. 3: Hemimandible analysis.
Fig. 4: Posterior cranial (midsagittal) profile analysis.
Fig. 5: Face analysis.

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Data availability

Data supporting the findings of this study are available in the Zenodo open source online repository at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6846628.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC AdG 101019659 (KH)), the German Research Foundation (DFG FOR 2237 ‘Words, Bones, Genes, Tools’ (KH)) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant No. 117670 (RRA)). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. We thank all curators and institutions that allowed us access to the fossil specimens used in our analyses, E. Lopez for collecting part of the mandibular data used, K. Warren for collecting and analysing the data reproduced in Fig. 1, A. M. Bosman and C. Röding for help with processing the datasets used in Figs. 3 and 4, H. Rathmann and J. Kunze for help with the figures, and C. Posth for important feedback.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paleoanthropology section, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    K. Harvati

  2. Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    R. R. Ackermann

  3. Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    R. R. Ackermann

  4. DFG Centre for Advanced Studies ‘Words, Bones, Genes, Tools’, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    K. Harvati & R. R. Ackermann

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Both K.H. and R.R.A. conceived and designed the study; KH collected and analysed the coordinate data; RRA compiled data from the literature; and both K.H. and R.R.A. wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to K. Harvati or R. R. Ackermann.

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Competing interests

K.H. has an additional affiliation with the Centre for Early Sapiens Behavior (SapienCE) Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen, Norway, which was not involved in this project and is therefore not listed in this manuscript. R.R.A. declares no competing interests.

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Harvati, K., Ackermann, R.R. Merging morphological and genetic evidence to assess hybridization in Western Eurasian late Pleistocene hominins. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 1573–1585 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01875-z

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