Some of the last Neanderthals were surprisingly genetically diverse
newscientist.comSome of the last Neanderthals were surprisingly genetically diverseGenetic analysis of Neanderthals in north-western Europe reveals that this population was surprisingly genetically diverse, hinting that inbreeding didn’t lead to the species' demise✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Part of the MichaelFilter
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Unlock the full reading · $5.50 →New genomic analysis of 27 late Neanderthal remains from Belgium and France reveals these northwestern populations were more genetically diverse and well-connected than previously assumed, contradicting the inbreeding-as-extinction narrative drawn from Siberian samples. The study suggests regional Neanderthal groups had very different population histories, and curiously shows no modern human gene flow into these Neanderthals despite known interbreeding elsewhere. Researchers reframe extinction itself, noting Neanderthal DNA still lives in modern humans.
Teaching:
• Use as a frame for lineage discussions: Ashtanga's transmission isn't a single isolated bloodline but a connected network of teachers and rooms
• Caution students against generalizing from one sample of practice (their own body, one teacher) to universal claims about what Ashtanga is
• Cue the idea that diversity of input strengthens a system: cross-pollination between practitioners keeps a method viable
Writing seeds:
• Essay: 'What Neanderthal genomes teach us about lineage' - challenging purity narratives in Ashtanga transmission
• Shala Daily post on the difference between extinction and absorption, applied to how older methods survive inside newer practices
• Piece on sampling bias in practice culture: how the loudest or best-preserved examples distort our sense of a tradition
• Short essay on regional variation as resilience, not corruption, in embodied traditions
Idea map:
• Systems literacy: a population's health is legible through network connectivity, not isolated specimens - same logic applies to reading practice communities
• Reframes extinction as continuation-by-integration, echoing MJH's view that methods evolve by being absorbed rather than preserved in amber
• Sample size and provenance shape conclusions - mirrors his critique of injury data and anecdote-driven yoga discourse
• Connection and gene flow as proxies for vitality parallels his throughline that practice is relational infrastructure
Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2531732-some-of-the-last-neanderthals-were-surprisingly-genetically-diverse/
Teaching:
• Use as a frame for lineage discussions: Ashtanga's transmission isn't a single isolated bloodline but a connected network of teachers and rooms
• Caution students against generalizing from one sample of practice (their own body, one teacher) to universal claims about what Ashtanga is
• Cue the idea that diversity of input strengthens a system: cross-pollination between practitioners keeps a method viable
Writing seeds:
• Essay: 'What Neanderthal genomes teach us about lineage' - challenging purity narratives in Ashtanga transmission
• Shala Daily post on the difference between extinction and absorption, applied to how older methods survive inside newer practices
• Piece on sampling bias in practice culture: how the loudest or best-preserved examples distort our sense of a tradition
• Short essay on regional variation as resilience, not corruption, in embodied traditions
Idea map:
• Systems literacy: a population's health is legible through network connectivity, not isolated specimens - same logic applies to reading practice communities
• Reframes extinction as continuation-by-integration, echoing MJH's view that methods evolve by being absorbed rather than preserved in amber
• Sample size and provenance shape conclusions - mirrors his critique of injury data and anecdote-driven yoga discourse
• Connection and gene flow as proxies for vitality parallels his throughline that practice is relational infrastructure
Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2531732-some-of-the-last-neanderthals-were-surprisingly-genetically-diverse/
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