Presenting: Cro-Magnon v. Neanderthal in the Battle of Extinction

I'm not an anthropologist, but I'm quite certain that the skeleton in the photo accompanying this article is NOT that of a Neanderthal. Note the absence of an occipital "bun," the prominent mentum (chin), the nearly absent brow ridges and the "flat" face. The overall appearance of the skull is too gracile to be a Neanderthal

David L. Kutzler
Tucson, AZ

More likely they caught some disease from us that swept through the population and killed most of them. A more modern version of this is when the Europeans moved to the Americas and interacted with the Indians and they died in massive numbers.

Interestingly there was some event that reduced the modern human population down to extremely low numbers (a bottleneck event) around 50,000 years ago. Could we have caught something from them as well?

Now, now, Europeans traded Small Pox for Syphallis fair and square. Just because the Native Americans got one that spreads a tad easier than an STD, thousands still died in Europe from Syph, including innocent children born blind due to the "Harlot's curse." (credit to Willie Blake there in "London")

No, that is not a Neander skeleton. They IStock a lot of photos on this site. That one looks like one of the Vesuvius victims.

What I want to know is, how can you conclude "competition" when you mark it clearly with climate change? It doesn't take much in the way of climate change to tilt competition vastly more than one's pure ability would seem to dictate.

Example: Mountain Man has been fishing for trout out of Mountain lake all his life. It is what he knows. Swamp Man has been fishing for catfish. Introduce climate change, and the trout are (very quickly) replaced by catfish. Mountain Man is starving, because nothing in the now muddy lake will bite a fly. He has to move up into the mountains further, because that is all he knows. Swamp Man has no problems, because he has been fishing with liver for years.

So, if climate change drove Neanderthal prey north, he would follow, regardless of his ability to hunt whatever new prey-base followed.

A man who can hunt seal can follow caribu. A man who can follow caribu can heard goats. BUT, he won't. He will continue to do what he already knows how to do because that is what he KNOWS how to do and he won't risk his life trying something new if there is any other option. While there are cultural shifts in the world, individuals make decisions based on their individual circumstance.

Oakspar77777's comment is intriguing, though I tend to disagree with his/her conclusion.

Specifically, the notion
"A man who can hunt seal can follow caribu. A man who can follow caribu can heard goats. BUT, he won't. He will continue to do what he already knows how to do because that is what he KNOWS how to do and he won't risk his life trying something new if there is any other option. While there are cultural shifts in the world, individuals make decisions based on their individual circumstance."

If this held true, how is it that humanity has created the world we live in? If a man won't adapt to new cirucmstances, or alter his skill set with the world around him, how am I reading an article on a screen and typing on this keyboard? Under the presented argument, I belong in a forest somewhere, hunting the same animal my family has hunted for the past 30,000 or so years.

But more's the point, shouldn't I really be in a tree somewhere with a few other simians, flinging poo and eating fruit? I certainly won't be using a stick to get termites out of hill, now will I?

The point Oakspar misses is precisely that a man who can hunt seal CAN follow caribou, or herd goats, or weave cloth, or forge metals, or launch rockets to the moon.

The aspect of this article that is missing to have complete grasp of the true meaning of the scientific journal article by banks, that a person with a basic knowledge of biological anthropology must understand is that, no matter what stance you take on the cause of Neanderthal extinction, the bigger picture is, neanderthals were not the same as anatomically modern humans(cro-magnon). No one knows what the difference was, but what is known is, through this research, that the climate change in spain was less severe than northern regions.Neanderthals did not have to adapt to climate change, rather cro-magnon had to migrate south into neanderthal territory to escape harsh climate condition that affected food supply. As they moved south, for some reason, where ever they went neanderthals disappeared. The point of this research was not to disprove the effect of climate change, rather who was initially affected by the change. Because cro magnon were forced south due to climated change, where the niche of the environment was filled, they were the outsiders. If competition for resources resulted from this, then it is safe to make the argument climate change as well as competition was the cause. But it is false to suggest that neanderthal's inability to adapt to climate change was the determining factor.

my bad, the climate change in GI8 was not severe, rather mild enabling the AMH to travel across land that was previously impassable, never the less the point remains the same, because of climate change the AMH moved into neanderthal territory , because of this new competition, the neanderthal population declined to extinction. i hope this helps, i just wanna get the facts strait.