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→Spanning Across Europe
===Spanning Across Europe===
[[File: Neanderthal_distribution.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Map Showing the Geographic Distribution of the Neanderthals]]
If the Neanderthals were alive today, few would doubt their status as humans, although they would certainly look quite different than any human currently walking the Earth. The Neanderthals were generally short, robust, heavily muscled people with broad, thick chests and long skulls and faces, they adapted well to the cold, harsh climate of Paleolithic Europe. Although popular depictions have often portrayed the Neanderthals as more ape than human in their gait, based on skeletal reconstructions anthropologists now believe their posture was for the most part modern. <ref> Klein, p. 450</ref> These physical features played a major role in the Neanderthals migrations and dominance in Europe and into Asia during the late Lower Paleolithic Period (three million to 300,000 years ago) and the Middle Paleolithic Period (300,000 to 30,000 years ago).
The Neanderthals’ migration across Europe was a very slow process that took tens of thousands of years. During the late Lower Paleolithic Period, it is estimated that there were probably only a few hundred Neanderthals living in Europe, mostly in small groups of no more than a dozen people, following game and living in caves. <ref> Rogers, Alan R., Ryan T. Bohlender, and Chad D. Huff. “Early History of Neanderthals and Denisovans.” <i> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</i> 37 (2017) p. 9862</ref> By the time of the early Upper Paleolithic Period (50,000 to 30,000 years ago for the Neanderthals, although the period continued until about 12,000 years ago), their numbers had increased to about 40,000. <ref> Hawks, John. “Significance of Neandertal and Denisovan Genomes in Human Evolution.” <i>Annual Review of Anthropology</i> 42 (2013) p. 442</ref> In addition to possessing physical attributes that were conducive to survival in Paleolithic Europe, the Neanderthals were more intelligent and innovative than their hominin predecessors.
Although <i>Homo -erectus</i> and <i>Homo -heidelbergensis</i> were tool creating and using hominins, the Neanderthals brought tool making to a more sophisticated level in the Middle Paleolithic Period by introducing what is now known as the Mousterian Industrial Complex. Named for a cave in Le Moustier, France, the Mousterian Industrial Complex represents the peak of Neanderthal activity and the major reason why they were able to become the dominant species in Europe for such a long period. Mousterian tools are noted for being made of flint, particularly by using the Levallois technique, which involved the knapping procedure whereby arrowheads and other tools were chipped away from a bigger piece. <ref> Klein, pgs. 481-9</ref> Once Neanderthal groups made their tools, they used them to hunt game, make clothing, and protect themselves from animals and other hominins. The creation of the Mousterian tools clearly shows that the Neanderthals were much smarter than hominins before them, but their organizational skills were also superior. Using stone-tipped thrusting spears they made using the Levallois technique, Neanderthals hunted big game in groups, although they still had to get close, which often resulted in severe injuries and fatalities. <ref> Klein, p. 551</ref>
===Conclusion===