Yet Sykes’s convincing arguments about the suitability and diversity of ancient Neanderthals again lead us to the inevitable Sepines question. Scholars have always noted the dubious coincidence that Neanderthals came out exactly when the sapins appeared on the scene. But as long as scholars saw the Neanderthals as simple brutes that were rarely emptied in Ice Age Europe, it was easy to give the Sapins the benefit of the doubt. Some scholars said that the weather reversal has made the conditions more suitable for the sapiens while the Neanderthals could not cope with it. Other scholars have argued that Neanderthals are on the verge of extinction before the sapiens leave Africa. Another option was that the Neanderthals did not become extinct at all – they were included in the expanding Sapins population.
But in the new synthesis of Sykes all these alternatives seem to be rejected. For over 300,000 years Neanderthals have successfully described many climate cycles and adjusted to numerous habitats. They were capable of innovation and adaptation. They disappeared abruptly almost 50,000 years ago, resulting in what appears to be a sudden shock rather than a long process of decline. And while we now have conclusive evidence that some Neanderthals interfered with the Sapins, the evidence shows that these were isolation events and that the two populations did not integrate.
So what happened If Neanderthals were so good, why did they disappear? Sykes does not provide a definitive answer, but his findings reinforce the suspicion that Sapiens had a hand in it. Apparently, the Neanderthals were tidy and innovative enough to deal with different climates and habitats, but not with their African cousins.
Sykes provides conclusive evidence that on an individual level, the Neanderthals were in no way inferior to the Sapins. Neanderthal bodies were so fit, their hands were so skilled and their brains were so big – if not big – they were doing sapins. The advantage of sapins is probably in large-scale collaboration.
Sykes explains that the Neanderthals lived in a small band that rarely cooperated with each other. The only tentative key that Nindarthal Bands trades in comes from some stone tools. By analyzing the various mineral signatures, scholars can identify the exact source of each stone. In some notable cases, stones were raised from a distance of more than 100 kilometers. It is not clear, however, whether this suggests that Neanderthal bands trade valuables or that Neanderthals travel long distances.
At the time when they were facing the Neanderthals, the Sapins also lived in small bands, but different Sepines bands probably. Were cooperating on a regular basis. There is much more evidence for long-distance trade in the Sapins, and spectacular burials such as the 32,000-year-old Sangir tombs clearly reflect the joint efforts of more than one band.
Large-scale collaboration does not mean that a team of 500 Sepians came together to clear a band of 20 Neanderthals. Cooperation is not just about violence. Sepians will be able to more easily benefit from the discovery and discovery of others. If someone in a neighboring band has found a new way to find a bee, make a tunic, or heal a wound, such knowledge spreads more rapidly in the sapins than in the Neanderthals. While individual Neanderthals were probably as inquisitive, imaginative, and creative as individual sapins, the best networking sapins enabled Neanderthals to move quickly.
