Cro-Magnons were anatomically modern, straight limbed and tall compared to the contemporaneous
Neanderthals. They are thought to have stood on average 1.66 to 1.71 m (5 ft 5 in to 5 ft 7 in) tall. They differ from modern-day humans in having a more robust physique and a slightly larger
cranial capacity.
[17] The Cro-Magnons had fairly low skulls, with wide faces, robust mandibles, blunted chins, narrow noses,
[18] and moderate to no
prognathism.
[19] A distinctive trait was the rectangular
eye orbits, similar to those of modern
Ainu people. Their vocal apparatus was like that of present-day humans and they could speak.
[20] Their brain capacity was about 1,600 cc (98 cu in), which is larger than the average for all modern humans.
Upright walkers and a larger cranial capacity ( particularly in regards to some DPST's) than homo sapiens species characterized Cro-magnon man.
Neanderthal man had a more primitive appearance, but had many similarities to homo sapiens and interbred with homo sapiens.
Compared to
modern humans, Neanderthals were stockier, with somewhat shorter limbs and a larger chest and nose. These are often explained as adaptations to conserve heat in a cold climate, but are more likely adaptations for sprinting in the warmer, forested landscape they often inhabited,
[28] and products of
genetic drift.
[29] The braincases of Neanderthal men and women averaged about 1,600 cm3 (98 cu in) and 1,300 cm3 (79 cu in) respectively,
[30][31][32] within the range of the values for modern humans. Average Neanderthal men stood around 165 cm (5.5 ft) and women 153 cm (5 ft) tall, similar to contemporary humans.
[33]
Neanderthal technology is thought to have been somewhat sophisticated, and include the
Mousterian stone tool industry,
[34][35] the ability to create fire
[36][37] and build cave
hearths,
[38][39] making the adhesive
birch bark tar,
[40] crafting simple clothes similar to blankets and ponchos,
[41] seafaring through the Mediterranean,
[42][43] making use of medicinal plants,
[44][45][46] and using various cooking techniques (such as
roasting[47] and
smoking[48]). Though they were likely
apex predators, they still competed with
cave bears,
cave lions,
cave hyaenas, and other large predators.
[49]:120–143 Several examples of
Upper Paleolithic art have been controversially attributed to Neanderthals–most famously Spanish cave paintings contentiously
[50] dated to before 65 kya
[51][52]– and some claims of religious beliefs have been made.
[53] In
Bruniquel Cave in South-western France 2 metric tons of broken-off stalagmites were arranged in a big semi-circle 300 meters inside, and uranium-thorium dating has shown that it was built ca. 175 000 years ago - long before any signs of Homo Sapiens outside Africa. Neandertals were capable of speech, though it is hard to know how complex their language would have been.
[54][55]
They likely lived in small groups, lacked sexual division of labour, and put children to work at a very young age. Neanderthals lived in a high-stress environment with high trauma rates, and about 80% died before the age of 40.
[56] They had a low population, leading to the accumulation of harmful genes and
inbreeding.
Interbreeding between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans was concluded in the 2010
Neanderthal genome project's draft report,
[57][58][59] possibly occurring 316–219 kya,
[60] and more likely occurring 100 kya and again after 65 kya.
[61] Around 1–4% of all non-Subsaharan African genomes (
Eurasians,
Oceanians,
Native Americans, and
North Africans) derive from Neanderthals,
[57][62][63] and about 20% of the Neanderthal genome survives today,
[64] but many of the inherited genes may have been detrimental and selected out.
[65]