Neanderthals and Early Homo Sapiens

When beginning to look at the many different tools created and innovated by both the Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens, their origins and place of residence play a major role. When looking at Neanderthals, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the typical cave man. They had a very prominent brow, protruding face, and were a very strong robust people (8). They lived in Europe during the late ice age and were very efficient hunters. Some say that Neanderthals were actually better hunters than the modern human (33). Living in this extreme cold environment, the Neanderthals had to adapt. Although they could walk upright, they were just as nimble and probably even faster than the modern human. Because they lived in such harsh cold climates, they became exceptional hunters due to the lack of plant foods (8). Their hunting territories differed between seasons with the Neanderthals returning year after year. When hunting Neanderthals had to stalk their prey up close using weapons that they had to plunge into the animal rather than throw.  They would drive spears or other weapons into vital organs in order to down their prey, which usually consisted of animals that were already wounded or away from their herd, and make the kill. Early Homo sapiens on the other hand, started out in tropical Africa (9). Neanderthals faced very cold climates while the early Homo sapiens dealt with warm climates. Early Homo sapiens evolved around 160,000-200,000 years ago (4). The early Homo sapiens went through three stages; early, late, and modern (9). Throughout the stages their brain sizes increased which lead to dramatic changes in their cognitive abilities. Because they were using their noggin more and more, it lead to advances in their tools and weapons. They began to experiment on their tool kits, creating tools that were lighter, more versatile. According to Hilary Deacon, the conditions of early Homo sapiens were deteriorating, with their environment becoming wetter and warmer (9). This newfound ability to use their brain although allowed early Homo sapiens to adapt to any situation the encountered.