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Neanderthals' social isolation may have sped up their extinction

The remains of a 45,000 year old nicknamed Thorin was uncovered in a French cave system.

Scientists suspect climate changes, increased competition and breeding with humans, and possibly this isolation and lack of connection with others in their species could have led to the Neanderthal’s eventual demise roughly 40,000 years ago. “This is in the more speculative end, but even just the notion of being able to communicate more and exchange knowledge is something humans do that Neanderthals to some extent might not have done, due to their isolated lifestyles by organizing themselves in smaller groups,” study said Vimala. We see evidence of early modern humans in Siberia forming so-called mating networks to avoid issues with inbreeding, while living in small communities, which is something we haven’t seen with Neanderthals.”

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