西欧的人口增加了十倍,在尼安德特人到现代人类的过渡时期
Paul Mellars1, Jennifer C French
1Department of Archaeology, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK. pam59@cam.ac.uk
概括
大约4万年前,来自非洲的现代人类取代了欧洲的尼安德特人. 现代人类人口增加了十倍,这表明数字优势是这种替代的关键.
科学领域:
- 古人类学古人类学.
- 人类进化人类进化
- 考古学的考古学
背景情况:
- 大约4万年前,欧洲尼安德特人逐渐被来自非洲的解剖学上现代人类所取代.
- 推动这一重大古人类学转型的机制仍然是持续研究和辩论的主题.
研究的目的:
- 调查人口规模在欧洲尼安德特人被现代人类所取代的潜在作用.
- 分析考古数据,寻找中高古石器过渡时期人口变化的证据.
主要方法:
- 考察来自欧洲记录良好的地区的考古记录.
- 从文物密度和地点分布推断出人口规模变化的定量分析.
主要成果:
- 考古证据表明,在替代时期,现代人类的人口数量大幅增加了一级.
- 这种人口扩张发生在欧洲研究最广泛的地区.
结论:
- 进入现代人类群体的显著数量优势可能是驱逐和最终取代土著尼安德特人的一个关键因素.
- 人口动态,特别是数量优势,可能在现代人类向欧洲扩张的成功中发挥了关键作用.
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