Wolves

[tansy]

A lot of the reason mammals even survived to sizes beyond rodents is dumb luck: Asteroid cleared out those ecological niches out for us just nicely. Gone are the epic sized reptilian predators of the sea and land, gone are the largest land animals to have ever existed, sigh...

I can imagine the Neanderthals, who exceeded us in certain capacities, were the victims of such dumb luck. There are so many factors at play that the competitiveness of species against species can be ruined with issues such as disease or even local disasters such as wildfires or flooding. Evolution is the survival of the fittest, it's the survival of the most adaptable. Whoever can take the place of the dead guy first wins.

On the programme I was watching, they said that possibly the reason teh Neanderthals were pushed out was because the modern humans communicated across bigger groups..the Neanderthals tended to stay bin smaller tribes and not communicate (and thus, presumably, not co-operate with one another so much).

 

[Wiccan_Child]

On the programme I was watching, they said that possibly the reason teh Neanderthals were pushed out was because the modern humans communicated across bigger groups..the Neanderthals tended to stay bin smaller tribes and not communicate (and thus, presumably, not co-operate with one another so much).

Well, if memory serves, Neanderthals had music and art, which suggests a social structure and some measure of communication. But our larger brains and extended social network (England was trading with France as far back as the European Bronze age, inasmuch as 'England' and 'France' existed back then) put us a cut above them.

But then, I'm quite partial to the 'two human subspecies bred to form modern Homo sapiens' idea.

 

[tansy]

Well, if memory serves, Neanderthals had music and art, which suggests a social structure and some measure of communication. But our larger brains and extended social network (England was trading with France as far back as the European Bronze age, inasmuch as 'England' and 'France' existed back then) put us a cut above them.

But then, I'm quite partial to the 'two human subspecies bred to form modern Homo sapiens' idea.

I thought Neanderthals had larger brains than US? Not the other way round. Plus, on the programme I was watching, I don't think modern humans had reached England yet..maybe not even Spain. Anyhow I think we're talking Stone \Age here, not bronze Age.
But yes, they wre implying that the modern humans did have an extended social network.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

I thought Neanderthals had larger brains than US? Not the other way round.

Oh, I might have got that the wrong way round. Though, according to a 1993 study (thank you , Wikipedia), our brains are ~75cc larger.

Plus, on the programme I was watching, I don't think modern humans had reached England yet..maybe not even Spain. Anyhow I think we're talking Stone \Age here, not bronze Age.

True, Neanderthals died out ~30kYA, and those boats were from ~3.5kYA. Orders of magnitude are annoying.

 

[tansy]

Anyhow, whatever, I'm assuming that maybe Neanderthals were descended from a different line of humans