A recently published theory suggests that the Neanderthal extinction may have been caused by increased radiation levels during the Laschamp event. The arguments in favor of this look logical enough. However, archaeological experts have smashed them.
Laschamp Event
About 40,000 to 30,000 years ago, Neanderthals may have been extinct due to the Laschamp event, a global weakening of the Earth’s magnetic field that was accompanied by an increase in radiation levels. Such a claim is contained in a recently published study authored by Agnit Mukhopadhyay, a physicist at the University of Michigan who specializes in how space weather affects our planet.
The Laschamp event is a fairly long-known phenomenon that occurred about 41,000 years ago. Then the polarity of the Earth’s magnetic field changed for several centuries, and its strength weakened greatly during this process. As a consequence, the flow of cosmic radiation, which is usually trapped by it, began to reach the planet’s surface.
There is no doubt in scientists’ minds that this really happened, as they record elevated levels of radioactive isotopes in wood samples left over from those times. But there is still no reliable evidence that all this radiation caused the extinction of any species.
Clothing and protective cream
And that’s where Mukhopadhyay comes in with the claim that in the case of two closely related species of humans, it was elevated radiation levels that were the deciding factor in the extinction of one of them. In his opinion, it was all about clothing that covered the skin tightly and ochre, which can be used to protect the skin from the sun’s rays.
Allegedly the ancestors of modern humans knew how to use both, while Neanderthals did not. As a consequence, the latter got sicker and died faster due to radiation, and this was the main reason why the former displaced the latter.
Needles and clothes
At first glance, Mukhopadhyay’s arguments look rational, but the whole problem is that he is a physicist, not an archaeologist. And the latter has already smashed all his arguments. And first of all it concerns the main thing – Neanderthals had no needles, and therefore they could not sew clothes.
This is indeed true, but needles about 40,000 years ago were not found in European sapiens either. At that time they were already being used by Asian populations of humans who may even have been Denisovan rather than Sapiens, but in Europe these tools first appear in settlements dating back only 23,000 years.
Neanderthals’ lack of needles doesn’t mean their lack of clothing. In the cold climate of glacial Europe, they had to wrap themselves in furs, no small defense against increased radiation. In the cold climate of glacial Europe, they had to wrap themselves in furs, which is no small defense against increased radiation.
In addition, if, during the Laschamp event, radiation exposure to the skin did cause increased mortality, then mass extinctions would have been observed among African sapiens populations as well, because there they walked around without clothing. But archaeologists do not record anything like that.
Ochre and causes of extinction
As for ochre, there is indeed a lot of it found all over sapiens sites in different parts of the world. And experiments show that it can actually partially absorb ultraviolet radiation. The only problem is that it was also at Neanderthal sites long before the Laschamp event. But it seems that both species of humans used it solely for decorative purposes and never covered all areas of the skin with it.
Anyway, anthropologists just don’t need elevated levels of cosmic radiation to explain the Neanderthal extinction. The latter were merely small in number and did not use long-range hunting tools, so with all their adaptability to various conditions, they were unable to compete with our ancestors. A large part of the population joined the population. The rest are extinct.
According to phys.org
