BLUF

The study found that our ancestors' breeding population once plummeted to 1,280 individuals, with 98.7% lost over 117,000 years before numbers rebounded.

Summary

KEY POINTS:
  1. New methodology reconstructs ancient population dynamics.
  2. Bottleneck might explain 950,000-650,000 years fossil gap.
  3. Climate change, African drought likely contributed.
READ: Human Ancestors Nearly Went Extinct 900,000 Years Ago

References

Media Check: Scientific American (HIGH CREDIBILITY)     

Collections |The Runway (airforce.gov.au)

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