The Quaternary megafaunal extinction and the fate of Neanderthals: An integrative working hypothesis

Abstract

The last great extinction that has happened throughout the Earth's life history (the Quaternary Megafaunal Extinction) exterminated more than 178 species of the world's largest mammals. Different hypotheses to explain this extinction have been proposed, from environmental catastrophes to predator avoidance, or even volcanic activity and meteorite impact. Currently, many researchers see the Sixth Extinction as a total or partial result of past climatic changes. The mechanism of Neanderthal extinction is a controversial issue of broad interest among human palaeontologists and evolutionary biologists. This paper presents an integrative working hypothesis to elucidate this extinction, based on their killing/predation as habitual part of the competition strategy of anatomically modern humans, and in the context of the wider Quaternary Megafaunal Extinction. Following this working hypothesis, Neanderthal extinction should be seen as being a mere branch of the Quaternary Megafaunal Extinction. The ecologically K early Homo sapiens would exterminate other K species, most of them megafauna, including the medium-sized non-sapiens human species. Neanderthals were part of the large mammal prey potentially hunted by our species, in the same way that historically orang-utans, gorillas and chimpanzees still are. Most probably, the same happened whenever a technologically more evolved Homo species overlapped with other less technologically evolved one.