Neanderthals: Our Closest Extinct Human Relatives

 by Rukhsar Naguman

Imagine living in a world that is habitant to not just modern humans (Homo sapiens) but also another species of humans, more specifically Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis). What would they be like? Would we get along? The first archeological evidence of Neanderthal existence was discovered in the 19th century. Researchers described the species as ape-like but recent fossil discoveries from England and France were able to give a more realistic picture of the extinct species.

First emerged around 400,000 years ago, Neanderthals managed to survive for hundreds of thousands of years overcoming existential threats like extreme climate change. They lived in the Eurosian continent through periods of ice age and extreme cold with temperatures of -20 °C but they were well adapted to these harsh conditions. Chris Stringer, a physical anthropologist in the National History Museum of London, suggests that it is likely that their faces evolved for cold adaptations, particularly the nasal area which was very large and pulled forwards with a big internal volume acting like a ‘radiator,’ warming up and humidifying the air coming in. The ‘Levallois technique’ enabled Neanderthals to build weapons using the concave ledges of carved stones to attach to spears. They used these to hunt large animals like woolly mammoths, red deers and woolly rhinoceros providing them with not only meat for food but also skin for clothing allowing them to spread across the continent despite the cold and dry weather.

“They had culture, they had social systems, they had intelligence.” 

Chris Stringer(2020), Physical Anthropologist

Like modern humans, Neanderthals had their own culture, social systems and even language. Pascal Depaepe, an archaeologist at INRAP, believes that Neanderthals lived in small groups perhaps with 20 or 30 people. These groups had a nomadic way of life. Excavation work at Grotte Mandrin - a cave-like structure on the Rhone river - provided evidence which indicates that the place was an important stop for many neanderthal migrations. “Groups of Neanderthals apparently met regularly in specific places,” says Depaepe, “for example, once a year, they would gather to exchange information and members of their groups, especially young people.” Since Neanderthals lived in small groups, they reproduced amongst themselves which could have led to genetic problems so exchanging people during these meetings helped maintain a healthy gene pool.

Successful communication during these meetings was key to ensure the right information was passed along to various groups leading researchers to believe that Neanderthals had rudimentary language skills. Reconstruction of the basic shape of a Neanderthal vocal apparatus revealed that it is fundamentally similar to modern humans indicating that they had the physical ability to speak. “The voice box was a little higher in the throat,” says Stringer, suggesting that the voice of a Neanderthal was a bit higher pitched. Their ear bones functioned like modern humans for sound transmission with the same range of frequencies further supporting the possibility of Neanderthals having speech capabilities. 

First humans of our species arrived in western Europe around 50,000 years ago. Reconstruction of settlements and the discovery of flint objects at Grotte Mandrin indicate that Homo sapiens came to western europe in two waves; the first group consisted of scouting parties. They disappeared after 10 years. Around 42 thousand years ago, Homo sapiens returned to Grotte Mandrin. “This cave (Grotte Mandrin) was home to both the last Neanderthals and the first modern humans,” says Ludovic Slimak, a paleoanthropologist at CNRS. It is likely those modern humans came in contact with Neanderthals around this time. Studies done in France and parts of Europe suggest that Neanderthals went extinct around 42 thousand years ago. 

The extinction of Neanderthals is still a subject of scientific debate but there are several theories about what may have contributed to their demise such as competition with modern humans, interbreeding with modern humans, environmental changes and disease.