Neanderthals Could Cope with Warming Climate

Diggings effectuated at Caours, close to the mouth of the river Somme, by French and Belgian archaeologists have found solid proof that Neanderthals could live in near tropical conditions, in a warm interglacial age (in a recess between two Ice Ages) 125,000 years ago.

This is the first Neanderthal trace found in Northwest Europe during the 15,000 years of Eemian interglacial between Riss glaciation and the last glaciation, Wurm, which lasted till 15,000 years ago. Neanderthals was believed to stand only in cold conditions and had to retreat to the east or northern Europe during warm interglacial periods.

The site was situated on an ancient river-bank where family or tribal groups made camps for a period of a few decades or maybe centuries. They dragged to their camps large animals associated with warm or relatively warm climate like rhinoceros, elephant and aurochs (cattle's ancestor). The Neanderthals had powerful construction, buried their dead, used language, fire and stone tools to cut meat and crushed bones for their marrow.

Recently, British archaeologists found evidence that a few Neanderthals may have survived in caves in Gibraltar till about 24,000 years ago, while previously they were thought extinct about 30,000 years ago. The Gibraltar discovery suggests that Neanderthals survived for as much as 8000 years after the appearance in Europe out of Africa of the modern man (Homo sapiens). This suggests a 8000 years of coexistence between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens and Homo sapiens would not be responsible for wiping out the Neanderthals.

The French discovery proves another story. Jean-Luc Locht, an expert in prehistory at the French Government's archaeological service Inrap, said "This is a very important site, a unique site. It proves that Neanderthals thrived in a warm northwest Europe and hunted animals like the rhinoceros and the aurochs, just as they previously, and later, hunted ice-age species like the mammoth and the reindeer."

On both sites, Somme and Gibraltar, no Neanderthal remains have been found so far. Their presence has been revealed by flint tools in both sites and fossilized animal bones in the Somme. The bones from France show signs of having been crushed or stripped of meat by flint tools. The animal species identified include elephant, rhinoceros, aurochs, wild boar and several kinds of deer, animals that live in a relatively warm climate.

Patrick Auguste, an expert on archaeozoology at the French Center for National Scientific Research said: "You have to wonder at the artistry, the exceptional skill, with which the flint tools have been shaped. The Neanderthals may have had thicker fingers than us but they were certainly not clumsy."

These new findings from Somme show that Neanderthals could cope with warmer climate at the ending of an earlier ice age and they could survive the final ice sheet withdrew from Europe about 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age.

So, once again, the modern man is to "blame" for their demise after a period of 270,000 years of thriving in Europe.