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意义，但这些相互作用的时间和地理范围以及任何行为变异仍然知之甚少。在COEXIST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-智人共存，这对于理解我们如何成为世界上唯一的人类物种至关重要。小骨碎片占考古骨骼收藏的70-90%，但通常被排除在分析之外，因为不知道它们属于哪种动物或人类。通过质谱分析的动物考古学方法（ZooMS）现在可以通过胶原蛋白的变化来识别这些碎片，从而了解人类行为，以及发现新的人类遗骸。在这个项目中，我将ZooMS应用于14，000个骨骼样本，可以追溯到55，000 - 45，000年前，来自中欧和东南欧，一个最近有证据表明早期智人存在的地区。首先，通过这些ZooMS鉴定，我将重建晚期尼安德特人和早期智人如何使用一个地点，他们吃什么动物，以及他们如何选择，获得和屠宰它们。然后，我可以测试生存差异是否在尼安德特人的消失中发挥了作用。其次，通过ZooMS识别的任何人类遗骸都将使用最新的蛋白质组学和DNA方法进行分析，以评估其遗传历史，包括杂交繁殖的事件。最后，应用放射性碳测年样品选择的最新进展，我将建立一个新的年表尼安德特人，智人在研究区域的共存。通过其雄心勃勃的，大规模的和多学科的方法，COEXIST将对目前关于尼安德特人-智人共存的假设产生重大影响，并改变目前对我们过去人口相互作用和替代行为动态的看法。

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.