Neanderthals and Modern Humans An Ecological and Evolutionary Perspective [Paperback]

This book provides evidence that climate change drove Neanderthal extinction, not competition with our own ancestors.During the Pleistocene, human populations spread across the world. The Neanderthals were a people native to Europe who became extinct between 40 and 30 thousand years ago. Neanderthals and Modern Humans challenges the commonly held view that this extinction was caused by the arrival of our ancestors, Modern Humans, from Africa. Instead, Clive Finlayson provides evidence that it was because the Neandertals could not adapt fast enough to changing ecological and environmental conditions, and that their relationship with Modern Humans, where they met, was subtle.During the Pleistocene, human populations spread across the world. The Neanderthals were a people native to Europe who became extinct between 40 and 30 thousand years ago. Neanderthals and Modern Humans challenges the commonly held view that this extinction was caused by the arrival of our ancestors, Modern Humans, from Africa. Instead, Clive Finlayson provides evidence that it was because the Neandertals could not adapt fast enough to changing ecological and environmental conditions, and that their relationship with Modern Humans, where they met, was subtle.The Neanderthals were a people native to Europe during the Pleistocene period, who became extinct between forty and thirty thousand years ago. Challenging the commonly held view that extinction was caused by the arrival of our ancestors, Clive Finlayson provides evidence that their extinction actually occurred because the Neanderthals could not adapt fast enough to changing ecological and environmental conditions, not their relationship with modern humans.Preface and acknowledgements; 1. Human evolution in the Pleistocene; 2. Biogeographical patterns; 3. Human range expansions, contractions and extinctions; 4. The modern human-Neanderthal problem; 5. Comparative behaviour and ecology of Neanderthals and modern humans; 6. The conditions in AfrilÃç