The book presents compelling evidence that climate change, rather than competition with early humans, was the primary factor behind the extinction of Neanderthals. It explores how environmental shifts affected their survival, offering a fresh perspective on their demise and challenging traditional narratives about human-Neanderthal interactions. Through a detailed analysis, the author highlights the vulnerability of Neanderthals to changing climates, reshaping our understanding of their history and the impact of environmental factors on species survival.
Focusing on the extinction of the Neanderthals, this work presents a compelling argument that their demise was primarily due to their inability to adapt to rapid ecological changes rather than competition with modern humans. Clive Finlayson challenges traditional narratives surrounding their extinction, offering new insights into the environmental factors that played a crucial role during the Pleistocene period. This perspective reshapes our understanding of Neanderthal survival and their interactions with the changing world around them.
Neanderthals - no less than another kind of human - almost made it, finally
dying out just 28,000 years ago. What caused us to survive while they went
extinct? Ecology holds the clues, argues Clive Finlayson. It comes down to
climate change and chance. There was little in it, and things could have
turned out quite differently.
Evidence that Neanderthals caught birds and used their feathers for
decoration, along with recent discoveries of Neanderthal cave art, are
challenging our preconceptions of the cognitive gap between Neanderthals and
modern humans. Clive Finlayson draws on new evidence to overturn the old image
of the Neanderthal, and our relationship with them.
Taking an ecological approach to our evolution, Clive Finlayson considers the origins of modern humans within the context of a drying climate and changing landscapes. Finlayson argues that environmental change, particularly availability of water, played a critical role in shaping the direction of human evolution, contributing to our spread and success. He argues that our ancestors carved a niche for themselves by leaving the forest and forcing their way into a long-established community of carnivores in a tropical savannah as climate changes opened up the landscape. They took their chance at high noon, when most other predators were asleep. Adapting to this new lifestyle by shedding their hair and developing an active sweating system to keep cool, being close to fresh water was vital. As the climate dried, our ancestors, already bipedal, became taller and slimmer, more adept at travelling farther in search of water. The challenges of seeking water in a drying landscape moulded the minds and bodies of early humans, and directed their migrations and eventual settlements. In this fresh and provocative view of a seven-million-year evolutionary journey, Finlayson demonstrates the radical implications for the interpretation of fossils and technologies and shows that understanding humans within an ecological context provides insights into the emergence and spread of Homo sapiens sapiens worldwide.
