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Ecocultural range-expansion scenarios for the replacement or assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans

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  • Wakano, Joe Yuichiro
  • Gilpin, William
  • Kadowaki, Seiji
  • Feldman, Marcus W.
  • Aoki, Kenichi

Abstract

Recent archaeological records no longer support a simple dichotomous characterization of the cultures/behaviors of Neanderthals and modern humans, but indicate much cultural/behavioral variability over time and space. Thus, in modeling the replacement or assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans, it is of interest to consider cultural dynamics and their relation to demographic change. The ecocultural framework for the competition between hominid species allows their carrying capacities to depend on some measure of the levels of culture they possess. In the present study both population densities and the densities of skilled individuals in Neanderthals and modern humans are spatially distributed and subject to change by spatial diffusion, ecological competition, and cultural transmission within each species. We analyze the resulting range expansions in terms of the demographic, ecological and cultural parameters that determine how the carrying capacities relate to the local densities of skilled individuals in each species. Of special interest is the case of cognitive and intrinsic-demographic equivalence of the two species. The range expansion dynamics may consist of multiple wave fronts of different speeds, each of which originates from a traveling wave solution. Properties of these traveling wave solutions are mathematically derived. Depending on the parameters, these traveling waves can result in replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans, or assimilation of the former by the latter. In both the replacement and assimilation scenarios, the first wave of intrusive modern humans is characterized by a low population density and a low density of skilled individuals, with implications for archaeological visibility. The first invasion is due to weak interspecific competition. A second wave of invasion may be induced by cultural differences between moderns and Neanderthals. Spatially and temporally extended coexistence of the two species, which would have facilitated the transfer of genes from Neanderthal into modern humans and vice versa, is observed in the traveling waves, except when niche overlap between the two species is extremely high. Archaeological findings on the spatial and temporal distributions of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic and the Early Upper Palaeolithic and of the coexistence of Neanderthals and modern humans are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Wakano, Joe Yuichiro & Gilpin, William & Kadowaki, Seiji & Feldman, Marcus W. & Aoki, Kenichi, 2018. "Ecocultural range-expansion scenarios for the replacement or assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 3-14.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:thpobi:v:119:y:2018:i:c:p:3-14
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2017.09.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Aoki, Kenichi & Lehmann, Laurent & Feldman, Marcus W., 2011. "Rates of cultural change and patterns of cultural accumulation in stochastic models of social transmission," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 79(4), pages 192-202.
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    3. Kobayashi, Yutaka & Aoki, Kenichi, 2012. "Innovativeness, population size and cumulative cultural evolution," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 38-47.
    4. Strimling, Pontus & Sjöstrand, Jonas & Enquist, Magnus & Eriksson, Kimmo, 2009. "Accumulation of independent cultural traits," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 77-83.
    5. Wakano, Joe Y. & Kawasaki, Kohkichi & Shigesada, Nanako & Aoki, Kenichi, 2011. "Coexistence of individual and social learners during range expansion," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 132-140.
    6. Aoki, Kenichi, 2015. "Modeling abrupt cultural regime shifts during the Palaeolithic and Stone Age," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 6-12.
    7. Stefano Ghirlanda & Magnus Enquist, 2007. "Cumulative culture and explosive demographic transitions," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 591-600, August.
    8. Horan, Richard D. & Bulte, Erwin & Shogren, Jason F., 2005. "How trade saved humanity from biological exclusion: an economic theory of Neanderthal extinction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 1-29, September.
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