Question

we discovered fossil fragments on a cave floor that appear to be from a hominin. the fossils were discovered in the riparo mezzena region of northern italy. complete the passage by filling in the blank(s). drag the word(s) below to fill in the blank(s) or use your keyboard to choose word(s) from the dropdown menus. after returning to the lab with the fossils, the researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the fossils. the results indicated they were approximately 40,000 years old. during that period in time, both homo sapiens and homo neanderthalensis lived in this region of italy. one of the fossils appeared to have a chin, indicating it may be a modern human, but it also had prominent brow ridges which made it look like a. the samples were limited and not in good shape, so the researchers decided to extract, which would also tell them if the was a modern human or neanderthal.

Explanation:

• The first blank: Since the fossils are about 40,000 years old and Neanderthals had prominent brow ridges, while modern humans (Homo sapiens) have chins. The fossil has a chin (indicating modern - human - like feature) but also prominent brow ridges (a Neanderthal - like feature). So, it could be confused with a Neanderthal.
• The second blank: Nuclear DNA is more comprehensive for species identification. mtDNA is mainly from the mother and has limited information for distinguishing between two closely related species (modern human and Neanderthal) in this context. Nuclear DNA contains more genetic information that can accurately determine if the fossil is a modern human or Neanderthal.
• The third blank: The overall context is about determining the species of the fossil (whether it is a modern human or Neanderthal), so the blank should be "fossil".

Answer:

Neanderthal; nuclear DNA; fossil