All this speculation concerning Neanderthalensis has my mind in a buzz. Here’s my take on Homo Neanderthalensis……
An Ice Age mammal, shaggy and thick, Neanderthal man evolved from Homo Erectus gone arctic as a possessor of fire and a static tool kit 200,000 years old. Climate change hit the ice age mammals hard and left little to hunt for a being devoted to hunting with probably a small amount of gathering. Did their bodies make vitamins A and D? Were they exclusively predators? Could they not compete against a superior toolkit and division of labor?
What social organization did Neanderthal possess? Like that of a troop? Was sewing never invented because of their shaggy coat? Was warmth anathema to them, sealing their doom as the climate warmed?
So Homo Erectus gave rise to Sapiens, Neanderthal, Flores and maybe more…Neanderthal toolkits remained unchanged for 200,000 years until confronted with the roaming Sapiens and their superior toolkits. A brief mingling of traditions ended with the extinction of Neanderthal ca. 28,000 years ago but they shared space with Sapiens for thousands of years.
Who were they? The trolls, the dwarfs, Bigfoot or maybe even the druids living within the hollow of a huge tree? Neanderthal were giants of strength but not socially organized to evolve culturally to fit the changing conditions, which included hunting and territorial advances by Sapiens.
