Article
Article
DISCLAIMER: This article is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at last review, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information.
Neanderthal extinction
Article By:
Finlayson, Clive The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar.
Last reviewed:2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB081160
Neanderthals were humans that lived across Europe, the Middle East, and into central Asia and southern Siberia between 300,000 and 24,000 years ago. The prevalent view has been that these people were “archaic” and somehow brutish and apelike. With the arrival in Europe of “modern” human populations from tropical Africa around 40,000 years ago, the demise of these “backward” people was imminent. Present-day humans are all descended from the African colonizers and the Neanderthals went extinct, leaving no genetic trace among the people of today. The story is still considered accurate by a sector of the paleoanthropological community. In recent years, however, new research has raised important questions regarding the impact of moderns on Neanderthals, the degree of genetic mixing that may have taken place, and ultimately the causes of the extinction of the Neanderthals.
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
