Outnumbered

Humans Crowded Out Neanderthals

Study explains why they became extinct.

Those poor Neanderthals have had a rough time since we came along: A new study has found that they were outnumbered by modern humans by as much as 10 to 1 in Europe, explaining why they went extinct roughly 40,000 years ago. Though Neanderthals had lived in Europe for at least 200,000 years before modern humans migrated from Africa, research suggests they were pushed out by their Homo sapiens competitors, who would have been seeking similar hunting grounds and shelters. A paleoanthropologist at the University of Michigan said that longevity and better mating habits likely helped modern humans take down the Neanderthals.