Changes

The Neanderthals dominated Europe and parts of Asia for hundreds of thousands of years, much longer than modern humans have even existed. The anthropological and archaeological evidence shows that although the Neanderthals are related to modern humans, and many people of European and Asian descent carry Neanderthal DNA, they were a distinct species of <i>homohumans</i>. Despite the origins of the Neanderthals still being a bit murky and open to debate, it appears that they separated from <i>Homo -heidelbergenesis</i> around 400,000 years ago in Spain. Over the course of thousands of years, the Neanderthals developed a sophisticated tool -making culture and organizational skills that allowed them to dominate Europe until they became extinct towards the end of the Paleolithic Period. Evidence shows, though, that modern humans owe a debt of gratitude to the Neanderthals for laying the groundwork in advanced tool -making culture.