When the first Neandertal (also spelled Neanderthal) skeleton was discovered nearly 150 years ago, scientists presented the race as barely developed brutes. Recent findings, however, indicate that Neandertals made complex tools, organized group hunts, cared for their sick and injured, and buried their dead. Many things about Neandertals remain a mystery, though. How advanced were they? How and why did they disappear? Did they live side-by-side with modern humans? Some scientists believe they coexisted for 50,000 years. If ...
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When the first Neandertal (also spelled Neanderthal) skeleton was discovered nearly 150 years ago, scientists presented the race as barely developed brutes. Recent findings, however, indicate that Neandertals made complex tools, organized group hunts, cared for their sick and injured, and buried their dead. Many things about Neandertals remain a mystery, though. How advanced were they? How and why did they disappear? Did they live side-by-side with modern humans? Some scientists believe they coexisted for 50,000 years. If so, did they interbreed? Or did modern humans kill Neandertals with violence and disease, or simply replace them with their better tools and skills?
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