Student Article

A long time ago, before cities or smartphones, another kind of human walked the Earth — the Neanderthal.

Who were the Neanderthals?

Neanderthals were strong, smart, and creative people who lived in parts of Europe and Asia for hundreds of thousands of years. They made tools, buried their dead, and even created art on cave walls.

The great Neanderthal disappearance

Scientists believe that Neanderthals went extinct about 40,000 years ago, but no one is exactly sure why.

Was it competition? The mystery of interbreeding

One reason might be competition with modern humans, known as Homo sapiens. When these humans arrived in areas where Neanderthals lived, they may have fought over food, shelter, and land. Some experts think modern humans didn’t fight the Neanderthals directly, but instead outsmarted them with better tools or hunting methods. Others believe humans brought new diseases that made Neanderthals sick. There’s also evidence that Neanderthals and modern humans had children together. Scientists found Neanderthal DNA in people living today. This means they didn’t vanish completely — part of them still lives in us!

Cold, harsh realities: Environmental challenges

Another big reason could be the environment. Neanderthals lived during the Ice Age, a time of extreme cold and changing weather. These shifts may have made it hard for them to find food like mammoths and woolly rhinos, which were important to their survival.

The Neanderthal puzzle: A mix of factors

In the end, it was likely a mix of all these things — climate change, human competition, and fewer babies being born — that caused Neanderthals to disappear. But their story isn’t forgotten. Scientists keep discovering new facts that help us understand these ancient cousins and what happened to them.

© James Osborne / www.historyextra.com