Research First to Reconstruct
Neanderthal Ear Anatomy:
Research first to reconstruct Neanderthal ear anatomy
Pagano
Anthony Pagano, assistant professor in the Department of Medical Sciences at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University and his colleagues Samuel Márquez from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine and Jeffrey Laitman from the Icahn School of Medicine conducted the first-ever reconstruction of the Neanderthal Eustachian tube and published groundbreaking research that implicates Neanderthal ear anatomy and the resulting susceptibility to bacterial middle ear infections as a factor in their extinction.
Advanced technology and pioneering research
According to the medical school, using Neanderthal fossils and advanced 3-D digital technology called geometric morphometrics – commonly used by biologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists – Pagano and his colleagues were able to reconstruct the Neanderthal Eustachian tube — also called the auditory tube. It connects the middle ear to the upper airway and equalizes pressure within the ear.
Pagano compared the reconstructed Neanderthal Eustachian tube dimensions to those of contemporary humans spanning in age from birth to adulthood in his previous studies of normal Eustachian tube growth changes.
Neanderthal Eustachian tube. -HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
His previous studies found the Eustachian tubes of human infants and young children are horizontally oriented, which makes them more likely to develop acute bacterial middle ear infections that are common in early childhood and are often treated with modern antibiotics. Pagano’s earlier research demonstrated the human Eustachian tube becomes more vertically oriented around age six, allowing for better ear drainage that corresponds with today’s clinically observed decline in the rate of acute bacterial middle ear infections in older children.
“Our research findings suggest that the extinction of the Neanderthal population could have been due, in part, to one of today’s most common childhood diseases,” said Pagano. “Additionally, our research represents the latest evidence that Neanderthals had anatomical features that point to species-level differences and distinguish them from modern humans,” said Pagano.
Setting the stage for extinction
In his most recent study, Pagano and his team found that the Neanderthal Eustachian tube remained horizontally oriented throughout life and did not undergo the vertical re-orientation that humans experience around age six.
As a result, Pagano’s research suggests Neanderthals were more susceptible to bacterial middle ear disease beyond childhood, which may have translated to higher mortality rates and lower reproductive rates in a pre-antibiotic world. These factors may have led to a gradual decline in the Neanderthal population over centuries that set the stage for eventual extinction.
Stanton
Through their research, Pagano and his team have leveraged advances in digital technology to enhance scientists’ understanding of the relationship between disease, modern humans, and their closest cousins on the family tree of human evolution — the Neanderthals.
“Researchers at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine are conducting groundbreaking research that helps us understand not only how disease affected extinct populations, but also the role that disease played in the evolution and development of modern humans,” said Dr. Bonita Stanton, founding dean of the School of Medicine.
Pagano’s manuscript was first published online on Aug. 31, 2019, in the Early View section of The Anatomical Record, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for Anatomy. The manuscript will also appear in a future print issue of the journal.
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