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Yet Sykes’ compelling arguments about the competence and diversity of the ancient Neanderthals lead us back to the inevitable Sapiens question. Scholars have always noted the suspicious coincidence that Neanderthals came out exactly when Sapiens appeared on the scene. But as long as scholars regarded Neanderthals as mere brutes who barely scraped in Europe’s ice age, it was easy to give Sapiens the benefit of the doubt. Some scholars have argued that climate change made conditions more suitable for Sapiens while Neanderthals couldn’t make it. Other scholars argued that Neanderthals were already on the verge of extinction even before Sapiens left Africa. Another option was that the Neanderthals did not go extinct at all – they were assimilated into the expanding population of the Sapiens.
But Sykes’ new synthesis seems to rule out all these options. For over 300,000 years, Neanderthals have successfully withstood many climate cycles and adapted to numerous habitats. They were capable of innovation and adaptation. They disappeared quite abruptly about 40,000 years ago as a result of what feels more like a sudden shock than a prolonged process of decline. And while we now have conclusive evidence that some Neanderthals interbred with Sapiens, the evidence indicates that these were isolated incidents and that the two populations did not merge.
So what happened? If Neanderthals were so good, why did they disappear? Sykes does not provide a definitive answer, but his findings reinforce the suspicion that Sapiens had a hand. Apparently, Neanderthals were sophisticated and innovative enough to deal with different climates and habitats, but not with their African cousins.
Sykes provides compelling evidence that on an individual level, Neanderthals were in no way inferior to Sapiens. Neanderthals’ bodies were fit, their hands were just as skilled, and their brains were as big – if not bigger – than Sapiens’s. Sapiens’ advantage probably lies in large-scale cooperation.
Sykes explains that Neanderthals lived in small bands that rarely, if ever, cooperated with each other. The only tantalizing clue that Neanderthal gangs may have been trading goods comes from some stone tools. By analyzing different mineral signatures, scholars can identify the exact source of each stone. In some notable cases, the stones came from more than 100 kilometers away. It is unclear, however, whether this indicates that Neanderthal bands exchanged valuables or that Neanderthals traveled very long distances.
At the time they encountered the Neanderthals, the Sapiens also lived in small bands, but probably several Sapiens bands collaborated regularly. There is much more evidence for long-distance trade between the Sapiens, and spectacular burials like the 32,000-year-old Sunghir Tombs clearly reflect the combined effort of more than one gang.
Large-scale cooperation didn’t necessarily mean that a horde of 500 Sapiens teamed up to wipe out a gang of 20 Neanderthals. Cooperation is not just about violence. Sapiens could more easily benefit from other people’s discoveries and inventions. If someone in a nearby gang discovered a new way to locate hives, to make a robe, or to heal a wound, that knowledge could spread much more rapidly among Sapiens than among Neanderthals. While individual Neanderthals were perhaps as curious, imaginative, and creative as individual Sapiens, superior networking allowed Sapiens to quickly outgrow Neanderthals.
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