Langergraber, K.E., Prüfer, K., Rowney, C., Boesch, C., Crockford, C., Fawcett, K., Inoue, E., Inoue-Muruyama, M., Mitani, J.C., Muller, M.N., Robbins, M.M., Schubert, G., Stoinski, T.S., Viola, B., Watts, D., Wittig, R.M., Wrangham, R.W., Zuberbühler, K., Pääbo, S., Vigilant, L., 2012. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This paper uses chimpanzee, gorilla and
human generation times and new estimates of the average human mutation rate
(based on parent-child trios) to estimate the chimp-human divergence time as
occurring ~7-13mya, which is more inline with fossil-based indications than
previous genetic-based divergence times of ~4-6mya. Furthermore, the authors calculate the
Neanderthal-AMH divergence as ~400-700kya (versus previous genetic-based
estimates of ~200-400ky), which again is more inline with fossils such as Sima
de Los Huesos and Swancombe, which already seem to show Neanderthal-like traits
at ~600ky (although this early date is debated) and ~400ky respectively.
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