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Relative or Foe? - Neanderthals and Us

July 30, 2025

Although they were physically superior to us, Neanderthals did not prevail. What made them different and why did they become extinct? How close or hostile were they to modern man?

https://p.dw.com/p/4w9FA
On the left is the head of a Neanderthal and on the right the head of Homo sapiens, both in profile. In the background is a map of Europe.
Image: SWR
Explanatory image for isotope analysis: colored dots are used to locate the various isotopes that a person ingests with food during their growth phase in their skeleton.
Isotope analysis can be used to find out in which region someone spent their childhood. In the case of bone finds, this method helps to reconstruct whether the place of death was also the place where the person grew up.Image: SWR

Modern methods are drawing an increasingly accurate picture of our closest relative. The result sounds like true crime story from the Stone Age: it's about sex, weapons and cannibalism.

Reconstructed view of a middle-aged male Neanderthal with reddish hair and beard.
Image: SWR

And the question of how much Neanderthal still remains in each and every one of us.

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