The extinction of Neanderthals could be due to a combination of factors, such as conflicts with Homo sapiens, climate change, or issues related to competition for resources.
The climate at the end of the Middle Paleolithic began to change seriously: cold glacial periods suddenly alternated with rapid warming, forcing Neanderthals to constantly move and adapt quickly. As a result: fewer prey available, rarer plant resources, and significantly less hospitable territories. These frequent climatic upheavals likely reduced the number of Neanderthals and fragmented their groups into isolated populations. These ecological constraints weighed on their long-term adaptability, making their existence much harder to manage. Fewer in number, dispersed, and certainly exhausted by these harsh conditions, they became particularly vulnerable to prolonged environmental changes.
When Homo sapiens arrived in Europe, Neanderthals suddenly faced tough competition. Both species often hunted the same prey, sought the same shelters, and drew on the same resources for survival. The problem was that our ancestors (Homo sapiens) were generally more mobile, more efficient in gathering food, and better organized into large cooperative groups. This significantly reduced the chances of survival for Neanderthals in areas where vital resources became limited. This intense competition for territory, food, and shelters gradually pushed Neanderthals into less favorable regions for their way of life, thereby accelerating their gradual disappearance.
Neanderthals likely had cognitive abilities close to those of Homo sapiens, but with notable differences in creativity, technological innovation, and rapid adaptation to new environments. Their abstract thinking and long-term planning skills seemed less developed, which reduced their adaptability when resources became scarce or their habitat changed abruptly. Overall, their brain was large, even larger than ours, but their smaller social network and less diverse culture made them less effective in facing new situations. This limited cognitive flexibility may have been a major factor that made their long-term survival difficult.
Neanderthals likely faced health issues related to their low genetic diversity. Living in isolation in small groups, they tended to reproduce among close relatives, which promotes the emergence of genetic diseases and generally weakens their ability to resist certain infections. Studies also show that they frequently suffered from chronic infections, often linked to their harsh lifestyle and frequent injuries. In short, with intensive inbreeding and daily health struggles, they were less genetically and physically equipped to confront the arrival of new threats.
Neanderthals demonstrated certain technical skills but, compared to Homo sapiens, their innovation was rather limited. They maintained a restricted range of stone tools, with no significant technological advancements over several millennia. In contrast, Homo sapiens constantly experimented: diverse tools, varied materials (bone, wood, stone), and sophisticated methods. Neanderthal culture, in terms of symbolism, was also not very varied. Their forms of art or personal objects were rare and far less complex than those of sapiens, suggesting less developed creativity. Without this technological and cultural richness, Neanderthals had much more difficulty adapting to intense environmental or competitive challenges.
Researchers have determined that Neanderthals used certain medicinal plants, suggesting that they had acquired a form of empirical knowledge about the therapeutic properties of their plant environment.
The Neanderthals were the first to bury their dead, demonstrating an early form of symbolic awareness and death-related rituals.
It is currently believed that Neanderthals were capable of complex articulated language, as they had a throat anatomy similar to that of Homo sapiens.
The Neanderthals had already mastered the use of fire, which they employed to heat their shelters and cook their food, demonstrating their technical sophistication.
Yes, Neanderthals had advanced cultural skills including tool-making, mastery of fire, artistic creation, and probably complex burial practices, although their cultural expressions were different or less diverse than those of contemporary Homo sapiens.
Neanderthals had a primarily carnivorous diet, heavily focused on hunting large animals, while Homo sapiens adopted a more diverse diet that also included many plants, fish, and small animals, which potentially made them more capable of adapting to environmental changes.
Neanderthals and Homo sapiens cohabited for about 10,000 to 20,000 years in Europe and Asia, during which they even interacted genetically before the definitive disappearance of Neanderthals around 40,000 years ago.
Even though the debate remains open, numerous anatomical clues (such as the hyoid bone similar to that of modern humans) and genetics strongly suggest that Neanderthals had at least a rudimentary, if not developed, language, although likely different from our own.
Yes, most non-African populations carry about 1 to 4% Neanderthal DNA. This proves that there were exchanges and interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals before their complete extinction.
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