(June 11, 2012 at 10:36 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Here's a little nod to the HN, btw. In their element, they would have mopped the floor with us. As far as the varying speculations as to why they are no longer with us as a distinct population most of my chips are in with habitat and prey.
They did appear to be a sturdy species, and likely our intellectual equals - possibly superior. As to why they are no longer a distinct population, I speculate that rapid climate change likely led to significant changes in their prey's habitat that H. Neanderthalensis did not adapt to quickly enough. If that's the case, it's a reasonable speculation that H. Sapiens simply overwhelmed them with numbers as H.S. migrated into H.N.'s range (which with climate change, H.S. was better suited to) and out-competed them for resources.
I personally am looking forward to future research into the interbreeding between the two and settling the question as to what extent H.N. DNA has mixed with H.S.
Fascinating stuff.
