Don: It's time once again to go to the A Moment of Science mailbag . . .

Yaël: A listener writes in:

     Dear AMOS,

     The Neanderthals were smart, tough, and well-adapted to the cold where they lived      in regions north of Africa. So what happened to them?

D: That's one of our favorite questions. And there are several possible answers. Some      scientists have argued that when modern humans left Africa, they interbred with      Neanderthals. Others have argued that modern humans wiped out Neanderthals by      out-competing them for resources and by waging war.

Y: But here's a different theory: Neanderthals died out because they lacked skills in      clothing design.

D: Wait . . . what? Neanderthals.

Y: I read about it in "World Archaeology." Here's the idea: Neanderthals disappeared      about thirty-five-thousand years ago. That's just before the last glacial maximum---a      period when there was a sudden drop in temperature and glaciers advanced. Now,      because Neanderthals had evolved to live in cool northern climates, they'd had no      need to invent tools that would allow them to make complex, multi-layered clothing.      So when things suddenly got really cold, they were caught with their pants down, so      to speak.

D: You mean they froze to death . . .

Y: Right. But modern humans were more vulnerable to the cold. So those living in cooler      parts of Northern Africa had long before the glacial maximum developed tools like      needles and stone blades for sewing warmer, multi-layered clothes, including      undergarments. So when the maximum hit, modern humans were better able to stay      warm.

D: Interesting theory.  

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