The early ancestors of humans were reduced to 1,300 individuals and came close to extinction, scientists say

• Early human ancestors faced near-extinction between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, scientists say.
• An extreme climate event might have caused the evolutionary bottleneck.
• The population of our ancestors might have been reduced to just 1,280 individuals for about 117,000 years.

Early human ancestors came close to becoming extinct between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, scientists say.

Scientists believe that an evolutionary bottleneck might have been caused by an extreme climate event, which they estimate left just 1,280 breeding individuals of our ancestors for about 117,000 years, The Guardian reported.