A recent study by the University of Colorado (USA) and the University of Leiden (Netherlands) has found that the widely spread theory that Neanderthals were quite clumsy and had limited intelligence , compared to anatomically modern humans, has no basis.
The disappearance of the Neanderthals, who populated a large part of Europe and Asia approximately between 350,000 and 40,000 years ago, has tried to be explained based on the appearance of anatomically modern humans from Africa, stating that they were superior both in their ability to hunt, to adapt to other environments or even to communicate with each other. However, this new review verifies that the available evidence does not support this explanation .
The researchers affirm that none of these hypotheses is supported, since the evidence found in various archaeological sites in Europe suggests that Neanderthals hunted in groups, intelligently taking advantage of the features of the land for it . For example, in a Neanderthal settlement located in the Channel Islands, fossilized remains of 18 mammoths and 5 woolly rhinos were discovered at the bottom of a ravine, confirming their good hunting strategy (creating a plan in advance with the group) , taking advantage of the depth of the precipice.
In the same way, other evidence also shows that Neanderthals had a good knowledge of the food sources in their environment , so their diet was varied. Microfossils have been found with food remains and Neanderthal teeth that indicate that they consumed both acorns, peas, pine nuts or dates, among other foods.
According to experts, the reason why Neanderthals became extinct , despite being neither as clumsy nor as unintelligent as previously thought, was probably that both Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans mated and that the children of this union were less fertile. This, coupled with the fact that they used to live in small groups, could have contributed to their disappearance.
