The Inner Ear Reveals Neanderthals May Have Experienced Great Genetic Loss

Learn how researchers analyzed Neanderthals’ inner ears to understand their genetic history.

By Monica Cull
Feb 21, 2025 9:45 PMFeb 24, 2025 4:32 PM
Life appearance of a male Neanderthal
Life appearance reconstruction of a Neanderthal male at the Natural History Museum of London. (Credit: Photo: Allan Henderson under CC BY 2.0)

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Ears are incredible things. They help us process sound and play a significant role in our balance. They may have also just helped researchers gain a better understanding of Neanderthal evolution. 

Neanderthals emerged around 250,000 years ago from pre-Neanderthals populations (500,000 years to 250,000 years ago). These populations roamed Eurasia. For years, researchers believed that as pre-Neanderthals evolved into early Neanderthals and then into classic Neanderthals, there was little evolutionary change. 

However, new findings published in Nature Communications may shake up this commonly-held belief, and the analysis of Neanderthal ears shows there may have been great genetic loss during this evolutionary period. 

A Neanderthal Bottleneck 

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