COEXIST-Maximising data from fragmented bone to understand the coexistence of late Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens in central and southeast Europe

虽然最近对古代DNA的研究在证明我们与尼安德特人杂交方面具有革命性，但这些相互作用的时间和地理范围，以及任何行为变化，仍然知之甚少。在《共存》中，我将应用考古学、蛋白质组学和遗传学的最新技术进步来重建尼安德特人和智人的共存，这对于理解我们是如何成为世界上唯一的人类物种至关重要的。小的骨骼碎片占考古骨骼收藏的70%-90%，但经常被排除在分析之外，因为不知道它们属于什么类型的动物或人类。质谱学动物考古学(ZOMS)的方法现在可以通过这些碎片的胶原蛋白的变化来识别它们，从而深入了解人类的行为，以及发现新的人类遗骸。在这个项目中，我将对来自中欧和东南欧的14,000个骨骼样本进行放大，这些样本可以追溯到55,000-45,000年前，这是一个最近有证据表明智人早期存在的地区。首先，有了这些放大的识别，我将重建晚期尼安德特人和早期智人是如何使用遗址的，他们吃什么动物，以及他们是如何选择、获取和屠宰它们的。然后，我可以测试生存上的差异是否在尼安德特人的消失中发挥了作用。其次，将使用最新的蛋白质组和DNA方法分析任何通过放大识别出的人类遗骸，以评估他们的遗传史，包括杂交时期。最后，应用放射性碳测年样品选择的最新进展，建立了研究区尼安德特人和智人共存的新年表。通过其雄心勃勃的、大规模和多学科的方法，共存将对目前关于尼安德特人和智人共存的假说产生重大影响，并改变目前对人类远古时期种群相互作用和更替的行为动力学的看法。

While recent studies of ancient DNA have been revolutionary in demonstrating we interbred with Neanderthals, the chronological and geographic extent of these interactions, as well as any behavioural variations, remain poorly understood. In COEXIST, I will apply the latest technical advances from archaeological science, proteomics and genetics to reconstruct Neanderthal-Homo sapiens coexistence, which is essential to understand how we became the only human species in the world. Small bone fragments make up 70-90% of archaeological bone collections but are often excluded from analyses, as it is not known what type of animal or human they belonged to. The method of Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) can now identify these fragments through variations in their collagen, allowing insights into human behaviour, as well as discoveries of new human remains.In this project, I will apply ZooMS to 14,000 bone samples, dated to 55,000-45,000 years old, from central and southeast Europe, a region with recent evidence for an early presence of Homo sapiens. First, with these ZooMS identifications, I will reconstruct how late Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens used a site, what animals they ate, and how they selected, acquired, and butchered them. I can then test if differences in subsistence played a role in Neanderthal disappearance. Second, any human remains identified through ZooMS will be analysed using the latest proteomic and DNA methods to assess their genetic histories, including episodes of interbreeding. Finally, applying the latest advances in sample selection for radiocarbon dating, I will establish a new chronology for Neanderthal-Homo sapiens coexistence in the study region. Through its ambitious, large-scale and multidisciplinary approach COEXIST will have a significant impact on current hypotheses on Neanderthal-Homo sapiens coexistence and shift current views on the behavioural dynamics of population interactions and replacements in our deep past.