Neanderthals lived in Eurasia around 200,000 to 30,000 years ago, exhibiting similar traits to humans but with a stockier build. They were skilled in tool-making, clothing, fire management, and burial rituals, possibly even engaging in speech and art.
Various theories on their extinction include competition with modern humans, climate change, disease, and possible assimilation into the human population.
Genetic evidence suggests that interbreeding between Neanderthals and humans occurred in Eurasia for around 5,000 years, with 1.5 to 2.6 percent of non-African DNA having Neanderthal origins. These Neanderthal genes can influence personality traits in modern humans, like wariness of strangers and anxiety, showcasing how a portion of the Neanderthal genome still lives on in us today.
