Out of the many examples of early hominids, scientists know more about the Neandertal than any other. This is based on the incredible amount of fossil evidence of a time that spanned 150,000 years ago to about 30,000 years ago. Anthropologists know a great deal about the Neandertal, but there is debate as to exactly what was their main cause of extinction. The most popular theories include climate change, biological change, and behaviors that swung mechanisms for survival toward modern humans, as well as the possible conflict for resources that would have arisen with the advent of anotomically modern humans. Ecological fluctiuations in Eurasia during this period of time have significant impact on the eventual obliteration of the Neandertal. The…show more content… The land changed over time from open grasslands to wooded forests and then back again. Rhinoscerous were being replaced by reindeer (Wong, 2). .As we map further south, the mammals are documented to be more dominant, as there are fewer and fewer trees. This is supported by evidence that as more anatomically modern humans began to show up, and that dwellings were moving away from trees and caves. Some scientists attribute the dependence of sedentary herbivores as the demise of the Neandertal population (Holden,1). The Neandertal was accustomed to hunting herds of wild deer and bison. These changes in environment were too much for the Neandertal to keep up with. When a forested area became a grassland, it took away the stealth that a Neandertal would have to hunt from a tree in ambush. When these animals became infrequent, the Neandertal had a hard time keeping up with migratory animals. A culture appeared later (about 35,000 years ago) called the Gravettian who had the technology and capability to follow migrating animals. A recent study suggested that most Neandertals were gone as long as 41,000 to 39,000 years ago (Bower,1). This study attributes previous reports of surviving Neandertals
