Proponents of the Assimilation Model incorporate elements from both the Multiregional and the Replacement Model.
Gunter Braumer of the University of Hamburg in Germany suggests that AMH did in fact originate in Africa, but also interbred with Neanderthals to a lesser degree. As I've noted elsewhere, Neanderthals and AMH probably coexisted with Neanderthals in Europe for about 12, 000 years. Rare instances of hybridized skeletons hint at Neanderthal/AMH mating, but would have been a rare event.
I think it's important to remember that Neanderthals were spread over a large geographical area. There may have been several factors at play in their downfall. Perhaps some factors were more consequential than others in specific geographic areas. Perhaps particular events affected some Neanderthal populations more than others. Just because the archeological record is at times conflicting doesn't mean that it's wrong.
Bibliography
- "Lapedo child." Wikipedia . 21 June 2009. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapedo_child>.
- O'Neil, Dennis. "Early Modern Homo sapiens ." EVOLUTION OF MODERN HUMANS: A Survey of the Biological and Cultural Evolution of Archaic and Modern Homo sapiens. Behavioral Sciences Department, Palomar College, San Marcos, California, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2012. <http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm>.
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