How Hominids Nearly Vanished 900,000 years ago

Written by Team Spirit on April 10, 2025. Posted in Current News

As we navigate the rhythms of our daily lives, few pause to contemplate our species’ extraordinary journey and how we achieved such dominance over the Earth

With over eight billion humans inhabiting every nook and cranny of this vast planet, it can be almost unfathomable to envision an era when our survival hung precariously in the balance.

Yet, recent groundbreaking research published in the journal Science reveals a startling truth: our ancestors once faced the real threat of extinction, their numbers dwindling to a mere 1,280 breeding individuals over a prolonged period of time.

This harrowing chapter in humanity’s history is a poignant reminder of our resilience and the fragility of our existence.

Scientists have long puzzled over a mysterious gap in fossil records from Africa and Eurasia dating back roughly 900,000 years. Researchers from China, Italy, and the United States may have found an explanation for this archaeological mystery.

Using a revolutionary method called FitCoal (fast infinitesimal time coalescent process), researchers analyzed genomic sequences from 3,154 modern humans. FitCoal allows scientists to make demographic inferences from present-day genetic information, effectively letting them peer back through time with unprecedented accuracy.

What they discovered was shocking: between approximately 930,000 and 813,000 years ago, our ancestors experienced a severe population bottleneck lasting about 117,000 years. During this extended period, only around 1,280 breeding individuals maintained our lineage.

“The fact that FitCoal can detect the ancient severe bottleneck with even a few sequences represents a breakthrough,” says senior author Yun-Xin Fu, a theoretical population geneticist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

What could have caused such a dramatic population crash? Researchers point primarily to climatic factors. During the early to middle Pleistocene era, Earth experienced significant glaciation events, leading to drastic temperature changes and severe droughts across continents.

Many species likely disappeared during this period, potentially eliminating crucial food sources for early humans. Our ancestors faced harsh survival conditions without advanced tools, shelter technologies, or agricultural knowledge.

“The gap in the African and Eurasian fossil records can be explained by this bottleneck in the Early Stone Age as chronologically. It coincides with this proposed time period of significant loss of fossil evidence,” says senior author Giorgio Manzi, an anthropologist at Sapienza University of Rome.

Perhaps most remarkable is that populations declined and humanity survived. For nearly 120,000 years—a timespan almost 20 times longer than recorded human history—our species persisted with fewer individuals than might attend a small high school.

Genetic Consequences of Near-Extinction

Genetic diversity forms biological insurance for any species. More variation means better chances that some individuals will possess traits helpful for surviving unexpected challenges like diseases, environmental changes, or food scarcity.

According to researchers, approximately 65 percent of potential genetic diversity was permanently lost during this bottleneck period. Despite our vast numbers today, modern humans carry genetic scars from this ancient catastrophe.

“The novel finding opens a new field in human evolution because it evokes many questions, such as the places where these individuals lived, how they overcame the catastrophic climate changes, and whether natural selection during the bottleneck has accelerated the evolution of human brain,” says senior author Yi-Hsuan Pan, an evolutionary and functional genomics at East China Normal University (ECNU).

Paradoxically, genetic research suggests that this extreme pressure may have accelerated certain evolutionary developments. Some researchers hypothesize that surviving such harsh conditions might have favored cognitive adaptations, making our ancestors brighter under pressure.

Furthermore, evidence indicates that a significant chromosomal change likely occurred during this bottleneck: two ancestral chromosomes merged to form what we now know as chromosome 2 in modern humans. Such significant genetic reorganization often accompanies speciation events – moments when one species divides into two or more new species.

From Bottleneck to Breakthrough

Around 813,000 years ago, something changed dramatically. Human populations began rapidly expanding again, eventually leading to migrations across continents and our current global presence.

Several factors likely contributed to this remarkable recovery:

1. Climate improvements create more hospitable living conditions
2. Possible mastery of fire, providing warmth, protection, and cooking capabilities
3. Development of better tools and hunting techniques
4. Evolutionary adaptations for surviving extreme pressure

“These findings are just the start. Future goals with this knowledge aim to paint a more complete picture of human evolution during this Early to Middle Pleistocene transition period, which will in turn continue to unravel the mystery that is early human ancestry and evolution,” says senior author LI Haipeng, a theoretical population geneticist and computational biologist at Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SINH-CAS).

Ancient History with Modern Implications

Beyond satisfying scientific curiosity, understanding our species’ brush with extinction carries profound implications for how we view ourselves today.

All humans alive—regardless of geographic origin or ancestry—trace their lineage back to approximately 1,280 individuals who survived unimaginably tricky circumstances. Our shared genetic heritage stems directly from this small group of resilient ancestors.

For perspective, consider that humans today show less genetic diversity than many endangered species with far smaller populations. Despite their limited numbers, great apes often carry more genetic variation between individuals than exists across all humanity.

Research into ancient bottlenecks also helps scientists better understand modern population genetics. By recognizing how past events shaped genetic profiles, medical researchers gain insights that are potentially helpful in addressing genetic diseases and health vulnerabilities affecting specific populations today.

Far from being merely academic, findings from FitCoal analysis may eventually extend beyond human genetics. Similar approaches could help unravel population histories of other species, potentially offering insights into conservation efforts for endangered animals facing their population bottlenecks.

These insights could also provide valuable context for studying population bottlenecks in other species.

Scientists also hope refined genetic analysis techniques will allow them to pinpoint more precisely when other major evolutionary events occurred, such as divergence between humans and hominid species like Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Continuing Search for Answers

For researchers, identifying this bottleneck opens promising new avenues for investigation. Archaeological teams might now focus on finding rare evidence from this critical period, with knowledge of what they’re looking for and why fossils remain so scarce.

Genetic researchers can examine which traits might have been selected during this extreme pressure period. Did certain physical or cognitive adaptations help some individuals survive while others perished? Did social cooperation play a crucial role?

Climatologists might examine more closely what specific environmental factors created such challenging conditions for early humans during this time. As Yi-Hsuan Pan suggests, this discovery opens up entirely new avenues of research in human evolution.

Appreciating Human Resilience

Perhaps the most compelling part of this research is what it reveals about human resilience. Against extraordinary odds and catastrophic climate conditions, a small band of our ancestors persevered long enough to repopulate and eventually spread across Earth.

Every person alive today owes their existence to those approximately 1,280 individuals who survived when countless others did not. Our presence represents an unbroken chain of survival stretching back nearly a million years through ice ages, natural disasters, diseases, and myriad challenges.

Stories of near extinction and recovery appear throughout human cultures worldwide. From flood myths to tales of small bands of survivors rebuilding society, these narratives potentially reflect cultural memories of actual population crashes.

While speculative, similarities between bottleneck research and ancient mythologies raise fascinating questions about the cultural transmission of historical events.

Lessons from understanding how our ancestors survived environmental catastrophe potentially inform modern challenges, requiring similar adaptability and innovation that helped early humans survive their existential crises.

See more here spiritsciencecentral.com

Header image: Natural History Museum

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