Why Did Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens Meet Around 50,000 Years Ago? — Here’s What Scientists Discovered Happened Next

Over 50,000 years ago, there were many different kinds of humans, and one of the most prominent was the Neanderthals. They are believed to have existed around 400,000 to 40,000 years ago, which made them older than the modern human species, Homo sapiens.

Our ancestors are thought to have evolved and originated in Africa, while Neanderthals lived in Europe and some parts of Asia. For a long time, these groups never met, but around 50,000 years ago, they did. But the question is, why? What specific events led to this scenario, and what happened after they met? Let’s explore these ideas and questions.

Why Did They Meet in the First Place?

One of the key reasons why Homo sapiens and Neanderthals met after living separately for hundreds of thousands of years was migration. The Out of Africa theory states that Homo sapiens originated in the African continent, but went on to migrate to different parts of the world successfully around 50,000 to 70,000 years ago.

Around this time, the climate is changing on the planet, and resources in parts of Africa are becoming drier and scarcer. This meant that as hunter-gatherers, they needed to move to an environment that would increase their chance of survival, where food and other necessities were abundant.

However, to move up north, they needed to cross the Sahara, which is normally dangerous to traverse, but scientists think that green corridors existed from time to time because of increased rainfall. These periods allowed them to safely move out of Africa, following animal herds, vegetation, and seasons, until they arrived in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

By this time, the Neanderthals had already inhabited the territories for hundreds of thousands of years. So, the meeting of the two human species was complex and led to the eventual extinction of the Neanderthals. However, what exactly happened when they met? Did they just fight each other to secure resources? Let’s find out more.

Read more: HumanOrigins

What Happened When They Met?

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When Neanderthals and Homo sapiens met around 50,000 years ago, they just didn’t live separately. Scientists had concrete evidence that they interbred and possibly shared cultures with each other. The proof could be found today in most humans’ genes from outside of Africa.

Genetic studies show that the modern Human species still carries between 1 to 2% Neanderthal DNA. They may have gone extinct already, but their legacy and blood still live with us today. This is a clear indication that they interbred.

Archaeological sites also showed that the tools and hunting strategies of both groups were more than just similar. They may have exchanged ideas and tool-making techniques. However, over time, these interactions could have still led to competition.

Homo sapiens are more social creatures, who are greater in number and have more genetic diversity to fight off diseases and to adapt to environmental challenges. On the other hand, Neanderthals have been recorded to live in smaller groups, with less genetic diversity, making them prone to diseases and other evolutionary obstacles. Soon, Homo sapiens were the only species to have remained.

What Did Homo sapiens Gain from Neanderthals?

The Neanderthals and Homo sapiens meeting was not just random, it was caused by migration and the chase for a habitable environment. But what most people did not know is that this very same meeting may have allowed us to be the ones who survived and dominated the planet.

Before Homo sapiens arrived in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, Neanderthals were already living there, and were well-adapted to the cold weather, diets, and diseases in those regions. It means that by mixing our genes with theirs, through interbreeding, modern humans may have acquired the necessary traits and characteristics to be better equipped to survive outside Africa.

For example, Neanderthal genes were thought to have an effect on one’s hair and skin traits, and they also strengthened the immune system. These minor changes in the DNA of Homo sapiens could have been a major advantage as they spread into new environments.

Read more: NATURE

Why Did Neanderthals Disappear Afterward?

A Neanderthal Odyssey: Everything We Know about the Neanderthals

There is not one single reason that could explain the disappearance of the Neanderthals. Scientists think that it is a combination of multiple factors that created the perfect storm around 40,000 years ago, which led to their extinction.

One of the factors is their way of living. They lived with smaller population groups. This made them more vulnerable to being wiped out by diseases, such as those introduced by Homo sapiens when they met, because of the lack of genetic diversity to fight them off.

The harsh climate changes also contributed to the reduction of their population in the world as a species. With fewer food sources and scarcity of habitable environment, along with competition with other human species that are greater in number and more adaptable, like the Homo sapiens, the Neanderthals did not survive.

There is also a theory that they did not go extinct in a sense, but instead have mixed and have been absorbed by the modern human species, both genetically and culturally. Since the Homo sapiens were larger in number, the Neanderthal genes could have become smaller and smaller as time passed by, until their direct and distinct lineage disappeared.

Author's Final Thoughts

Neanderthals and Homo sapiens met around 50,000 years ago, not randomly or by chance, but because of both of their drives to survive. Modern humans followed the path where food sources and a habitable environment are present and abundant. It turned out that Neanderthals were already at those locations at the time.

They met, interbred, possibly exchanged cultures, and competed with each other to survive. They may be gone now, but Homo sapiens gained useful genes and ideas that could have been the key to modern humans successfully spreading around the world. So, while Neanderthals eventually disappeared, a part of them still lives inside us today.

Read next: How Did Early Humans Survive the Harsh Ice Age 20,000 Years Ago? — Here’s What Kept Them Alive

References & Further Reading

Green, R. E., Krause, J., Briggs, A. W., et al. (2010). A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1188021

Stringer, C. (2016). The origin and evolution of Homo sapiens. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0237

Prüfer, K., de Filippo, C., Grote, S., et al. (2017). A high-coverage Neandertal genome from Vindija Cave in Croatia. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1887

Villanea, F. A., & Schraiber, J. G. (2019). Multiple episodes of interbreeding between Neanderthal and modern humans. Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0735-8

Hublin, J.-J. (2009). The origin of Neandertals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0904119106