Neanderthals lived between 30,000 and 150,000 years ago in Europe, the Near and Middle East and Western Asia. Compared to our other human ancestors, much more is known about Neanderthals thanks to a greater number of fossils, among which several hundred fossils have been discovered. Despite this, the question of how Neanderthals met their end is still relevant in their field of paleoanthropology. In Twilight of the Neanderthals by Kate Wong, several theories about how Neanderthals might have met their end are discussed, and the role of early Homo sapiens in the demise of Neanderthals is speculated. Wong first discusses the possibility that the harsh climate killed off the Neanderthals. last Neanderthals. Analysis of isotopes found in ocean sediments, ice and pollen from the Neanderthal era reveals that during a period known as oxygen isotope stage 3 (OIS-3), which occurred approximately 65,000 to 25,000 years ago, a climate change occurred. moderate to glacial. However, this is probably not what killed the Neanderthals, as Neanderthal anatomy was still better adapted to colder climates, with their shorter limbs, barrel chests, and small stature which retained body heat better ( conference). It is more likely that severe and rapid environmental change led to the disappearance of Neanderthals, which could have led to a shift from forests to grasslands and a change in plants and animals in a short time, even within a lifetime. of an individual, and just as quickly, he could have gone back. Neanderthals would therefore have had to adapt quickly to the new environment to survive. Another theory about what led to the demise of Neanderthals was competition between Neanderthals and early Homo sa...... middle of paper. .....it is possible that Neanderthal females chose male partners due to the greater availability of food. These behaviors are also seen in modern primate species, whose behaviors are observed and can provide insight into past human behavior, which could be used as evidence to support the theory that competition between humans and Neanderthals led to the extinction of the Neanderthals. There are many good theories. why the Neanderthals met their end. What is most likely is that the reason Neanderthals went extinct was a combination of these reasons, and as Wong notes in his article, it is very likely that different Neanderthal groups became extinct for different reasons. Neanderthals had a wide geographic distribution, and different Neanderthal groups likely faced different climatic or competitive struggles. Disease and other factors may also have led to the extinction of some groups of Neanderthals..