Neanderthal extinction and modern human behaviour: the role of climate change and clothing

Abstract

Thermal considerations can help resolve two of the most challenging problems in later Palaeolithic archaeology – the demise of Neanderthals and the emergence of modern human behaviour. Both can be viewed as reflecting interactions between biological and behavioural cold adaptations, in the context of extreme climatic fluctuations during the Upper Pleistocene. Recent studies draw attention to the special difficulties these conditions posed for humans but few give sufficient regard to the need for adequate pre-adaptations, namely technologies for manufacturing complex clothing assemblages. It is argued here that pre-existing biological cold adaptations delayed the development of such technological capacities among Neanderthals, resulting ultimately in their extinction. In contrast, the greater biological vulnerability of fully modern humans promoted a precocious appearance of behavioural adaptations among some (though not all) groups, visible in the various archaeological markers of modern human behaviour.

Keywords:

• Clothing
• cold adaptations
• Neanderthals
• modern human behaviour

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank David Bulbeck, Colin Groves and Peter White for their useful comments and Bob Steadman for his correspondence on wind chill. Unless otherwise stated, the opinions and interpretations are solely those of the author.