Neanderthals (/ n i ˈ æ n d ər ˌ t ɑː l, n eɪ-,-ˌ θ ɑː l /, also Neandertals, Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the cause of their extinction remains “highly contested”, demographic factors like small population size, inbreeding, and random ...

Neanderthals obtained protein in their diet from animal sources. Evidence-based isotope studies show that Neanderthals ate primarily meat. Neanderthals were probably apex predators, and fed predominantly on deer, namely red deer and reindeer, as they were the most abundant game, but also on ibex, wild boar, aurochs, and less frequently mammoth, straight-tusked elephant and …

According to genetic and fossil evidence, older versions of Homo sapiens evolved only in Africa, between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago, with members of one branch leaving Africa by 90,000 years ago and over time replacing earlier human populations such as …