Twilight of the Neandertals by Kate Wong

The Neandertals lived between 30,000 and 150,000 years ago in Europe, the Near and Middle East, and in Western Asia. Compared to our other human ancestors, much more is known about Neandertals due to a larger fossil record, of which several hundred fossils have been found. Despite this, the question of how the Neandertals met their end is still prominent in their field of paleoanthropology today. In Twilight of the Neandertals by Kate Wong, several theories of how the Neandertals might have met their end are addressed, and the role of the early Homo sapiens in the demise of the Neandertals is speculated.

Wong first discusses the possibility that harsh climate killed the last Neandertals. Analysis of isotopes in ocean sediments, ice, and in pollen from the time of the Neandertals reveals that during a period known as oxygen isotope stage 3 (OIS-3), which occurred about 65,000 to 25,000 years ago, there was a climate shift, from moderate to glacial. However, this was probably not what killed the Neandertals, due to the fact that Neandertal anatomy was even better suited for colder climates, with their shorter limbs, barrel chest, and short stature better at conserving body heat (lecture). It is more likely that the severe and rapid environmental shift resulted in the demise of the Neandertals, which could have resulted in a change from forests to grasslands and a change in plants and animals in a short period of time, even over the lifetime of one individual, and just as quickly it could have changed back. The Neandertals, therefore, would have had to adjust to the new environment quickly in order to survive.

Another theory about what led to the demise of the Neandertals was competition between Neandertals and the earliest Homo sa...

... middle of paper ...

...possibly is that female Neandertals chose human male mates due to the higher availability of food. These behaviors are also seen in modern primate species, whose behaviors are observed and can give an insight into past human behavior, which could be used as evidence to support the theory that competition between humans and Neandertals led to Neandertal extinction.

There are many good theories as to why the Neandertals met their end. What is most likely is that the reason for the Neandertals demise is a combination of these reasons, and as Wong notes in her article it is most likely that different Neandertal groups died out for different reasons. Neandertals had a wide geographic range and different Neandertal groups likely face different climate or competition struggles. Disease and other factors may have also led to the extinction of certain groups of Neandertals.