Summary

Neanderthals and Modern Man lived side-by-side some 65,000 years ago. Although they are both considered human they are separated by 550,000 years. The chances of them interbreeding is quit slim as we do not share any unique genetic 'markers'. The ability to survive rests on the ability to adapt. They had to change either the environment around them or the way in which they lived. This is true of any and all groups living through Climate Change. Modern man was able to adapt better to many different environments and move to all parts of Europe and Asia. The ability to adapt is the chief reason they survived the changing climate of 150,000 years ago. The Neanderthals died off because of poor social networks, was not able to adapt fast enough to the changing climate. I believe that Modern Man moved into areas that were inhabited by the Neanderthals. As they did so it put a strain on the resources of those areas. At the same time food resources were being strained the earth was getting colder making it harder to hunt and gather food. Neanderthals burned too many calories for the amount of food they were able to obtain leaving them weak and unable to breed in numbers necessary to maintain the group. Heavy snow and longer hunting trips exasperated the problem. They slowly dwindled in numbers and eventually died out. Modern Man on the other hand was able to use its social networks and superior tools to gather more food and make better use of what little resources they could find. They made it through the tough cold period and was able to flourish as the globe began to warm. I don't think that Modern Man hunted them to extinction as some have suggested. In the end, Modern Man was just able to survive the changes in climate better then the Neanderthals.

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