There were once only 1,280 early humans left to breed, claim Chinese scientists

Plastics, deforestation, polluted water bodies and a world full of concrete. The evidence of the continuous existence of humanity is spread across the world.

The human population has currently exceeded 8 billion.

But scientists now propose that humanity was once on the brink of never existing.

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Chinese researchers have uncovered evidence suggesting that 930,000 years ago, our modern human ancestors endured a catastrophic population collapse, likely triggered by dramatic climate changes.

During this period, known as a "bottleneck," our ancestors dwindled to fewer than 1,280 breeding individuals, with approximately 98.7 per cent of human ancestors lost, endangering their survival.

Theirstudywas published on Thursday in the journal Science.

What does it mean?

This research raises the intriguing possibility that a climate-induced bottleneck may have contributed to the divergence of early humans into two evolutionary paths; one leading to Neanderthals and the other to modern humans.

For decades, scientists have reconstructed human history through genetic analysis, through the use ofinherent biological facts of genetic mutations and their transmission across generations.

Technological advancements in DNA sequencing now enablethe comparison of complete genomes from diverse human populations.

How the study was done?

Haipeng Li and his colleagues, based in Chinese Academy of Sciences atShanghai, developed the FitCoal method, allowing the modelling of a million years of evolution, dissected into monthly segments.

This tool helps uncover the histories of various living organisms, including humans.

Initially focused on animals like fruit flies, the researchers later turned their attention to humans, comparing the genomes of 3,154 individuals from 50 populations worldwide.

Their investigation led to the conclusion that a near-extinction event occurred among our ancestors 930,000 years ago.

Before the bottleneck, the ancestral human population numbered approximately 98,000 breeding individuals.

This number plummeted to fewer than 1,280 individuals, persisting for 117,000 years before recovery.

The scientists argue that this bottleneck aligns with the fossil record of our human ancestors.

Our branch of the evolutionary tree diverged from other apes around seven million years ago in Africa. By a million years ago, our ancestors in Africa had evolved to be tall and large-brained.

Also watch |Ancient human civilisation needed three attempts & 12,000 years to colonise Europe: Study

Subsequently, some of these early humans migrated to Europe and Asia, evolving into Neanderthals and Denisovans, while our lineage continued to evolve into modern humans in Africa.

Despite decades of fossil hunting, the scarcity of remains from ancient human relatives in Africa between 950,000 and 650,000 years ago remains puzzling, and critics have demanded more conclusive evidence for the claim made by Chinese scientists.

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