Neanderthals

All my life I have seen depictions of Neanderthals as big and dumb “cavemen” in cartoons. Last week, I learned a lot more about them.

Firstly, I learned that they are actually a completely different species from modern humans (Homo sapiens). This is surprising to me because our ancestors share around 99.7% of our DNA with them along with very similar behaviors. These include controlling fire, living in shelters, and being hunters and gathers (Smithsonian, 2021).

This leads me to the second major thing I learned: Neanderthals were likely even smarter than humans. According to Dr. Peola Villa at the University of Colorado Museum in Boulder, “The evidence for cognitive inferiority is simply not there.” He goes on to explain that this misconception likely stems from the fact that early researchers compared Neanderthals to modern humans, not the ancient humans that lived around the same time (Villa, 2016).

So if the Neanderthals were just as smart as ancient humans, why did they go extinct? Many researchers believe that it is because ancient humans had better organization, more complex tools, and more elaborate communication systems. This allowed them to out compete Neanderthals.

I find it very interesting to explore the many different “versions” of humans that have all dwindled out to lead to us. I hope I get a chance to learn more about this further in the future.

“Homo Neanderthalensis.” The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program, 22 Jan. 2021, https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-neanderthalensis.

“Neanderthals Were Not Inferior to Modern Humans, Says Cu-Boulder Study.” CU Boulder Today, 20 July 2016, https://www.colorado.edu/today/2014/04/30/neanderthals-were-not-inferior-modern-humans-says-cu-boulder-study.