Population collapse almost wiped out human ancestors, say scientists
Early human ancestors came close to eradication
in a severe evolutionary bottleneck
between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, according to scientists. A genomics
analysis of more than 3,000 living people suggested that our ancestors’ total population plummeted
to about 1,280 breeding
individuals
for about 117,000 years. Scientists believe that an extreme climate event could have led to the bottleneck that came close to wiping out our ancestral line. “The numbers that emerge from our study correspond to those of species that are currently at risk of extinction,” said Prof Giorgio Manzi, an anthropologist
at Sapienza University of Rome and a senior author of the research.
tips
eradication 灭绝;连根拔除
eradicate 根除;消灭(e- 离开,radic- = root,根)
bottleneck 瓶颈
genomic 基因学
plummet 垂直落下(plumb- = lead,铅)
breed 品种;v 养育;繁殖;饲养;这里是指繁殖的个体
individual 个体
anthropology 人类学(anthropo- = human,人类)