Science Daily: European Neanderthals were on the verge of extinction even before the arrival of modern humans

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal child from Gibraltar

ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2012) — "New findings from an international team of researchers show that most Neanderthals in Europe died off around 50,000 years ago. The previously held view of a Europe populated by a stable Neanderthal population for hundreds of thousands of years up until modern humans arrived must therefore be revised."

This is an interesting study because racists like to suggest that Caucasians are different because they have Neanderthal genes. This study would suggest the Neanderthal contribution to modern Europeans was limited.

Some anthropologists believe the Basques of Spain have the greatest Neanderthal heritage. The Basques also also have a unique language that is unrelated to other indo-European languages and could be the remnant of a language spoken by Neanderthals.

The last Neanderthals lived in Spain and Gibraltar.

Genetically, Basques are similar to people with Celtic ancestry. Celts are believed to be the first people who inhabited Europe.

graphic source: http://rdos.net

source: European Neanderthals were on the verge of extinction even before the arrival of modern humans

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