An alternative hypothesis is that the Neanderthal jawbone actually belonged to a modern human with Neanderthal characteristics, which would suggest these two human groups made love and not war. Noted British anthropologist Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, London, believes the new study is "very important." Although Stringer doesn't think it proves we hunted Neanderthals to death, he said the research strengthens the argument that competition from modern humans "contributed to Neanderthal extinction." Neanderthals weren't always at the losing end of battles, however. Another new study, for the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, found that Neanderthals were big game hunters who directly competed with hyenas, which had a similar diet and occupied the same carnivore position on the early European food chain. Hyenas and Neanderthals also appear to have eaten each other on occasion, but project leader Gerrit Dusseldorp of the University of Witwatersrand's Institute for Human Evolution says Neanderthals were superior hunters due to their greater intelligence, communication skills and ability to cooperate. Dusseldorp indicated that, per Rozzi's study, it's possible modern humans butchered Neanderthals. But he believes Neanderthal reliance on large prey, such as rhinos, brown bear, bison bulls and horses, may have played a bigger factor in the Neanderthal's demise, since large animal shortages could have left them hungry. Modern humans, in contrast, are thought to have fished and hunted smaller, yet more plentiful, prey, like rabbits and birds. "After environmental crises, modern humans may then have recovered more quickly than Neanderthals, and may have started usurping territories that before the environmental crisis were occupied by Neanderthals," Dusseldorp said. Related Links: Natural History Museum: Human Origins |
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