We used to think the Iberian Peninsula was the Neanderthals’ final stronghold. It appeared that our species somehow failed to find a way into the region until about 35,000 years ago, leaving the last remaining Neanderthal population untouched. But stone tools from a cave in southern Spain may now sink that idea once and for all. Image: edenpictures
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Neanderthals are often depicted as graduates of the Stone Age school of hard knocks: Without sophisticated weapons, they had to face down violent prey such as woolly rhinos at close range. But a new study reveals our closest human relatives were no more likely than Stone Age members of our species to sustain head injuries. Image: Gleiver Prieto & Katerina Harvati
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The Neanderthal rib cage was subtly different in shape from our own – and that could help explain how the heavily built ancient humans grabbed enough oxygen from the air to survive. Image: grapitix
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Where there’s fire there’s often smoke – which might have been bad news for Neanderthals and other ancient hominins. Modern humans carry a genetic mutation that reduces our sensitivity to cancer-causing chemicals found in wood smoke. But Neanderthals and Denisovans apparently lacked the mutation. Image: jmw120
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Genes from our extinct cousins helped us conquer the planet. Without them, our ancestors may not have coped with unfamiliar diseases, thrived in the thin air of the high Tibetan plateau, or withstood the chilly winds of the Arctic. Image: Riebart
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