For hundreds of thousands of years Neanderthals have roamed the lands of what is today Europe and western Asia. But how did they survive, and what caused their decline?Tristan Hughes delves into the fate of the last Neanderthals and continues our Ice Age mini-series with Professor Chris Stringer from the Natural History Museum. They explore how Neanderthals thrived across diverse climates and investigate the intriguing story of Neanderthals' eventual decline alongside the arrival of Homosapiens 60,000 years ago. Professor Stringer also shares the fascinating evidence of interbreeding that has left traces of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans and groundbreaking insights from recent archaeological and DNA research, that shed light on why Neanderthals went extinct.Presented by Tristan Hughes. The audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
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It's 55,000 years ago. For hundreds of thousands of years, Neanderthals have roamed the lands of what is today Europe and Western Asia. Over that time, they've been able to survive and thrive in a whole host of different climates and environments, stretching from the coasts of Iberia and southern Britain to Iraq and western Asia and even Siberia.
They lived in caves, these natural places of shelter. They carved effective tools out of wood, ancillar, bone and stone. They made art. They lit fires. They had their own methods of communication, although what they were, we don't know. And yet, 55,000 years ago, this was a species in decline. And what's more, a new species was about to emerge onto the scene.
One that would come into direct contact and potentially conflict with Neanderthals. Homo sapiens. Us. It's The Ancients on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host. Today we're continuing our Ice Age mini-series this February by exploring the enigmatic story of the last Neanderthals and why they ultimately went extinct. This is a really exciting field.
Over the past few years, new information has come to light thanks to a mix of archaeological and DNA research, revealing how late Neanderthals and Homo sapiens interbred some 50,000 years ago. Many of us in the world today have Neanderthal DNA in our genomes. Yet the Neanderthals themselves soon went extinct.
Many reasons have been put forward as to why this occurred, closely linked with the arrival of modern humans in their territories. to talk through the possibilities. I was delighted to interview Professor Chris Stringer from the Natural History Museum. Chris is one of the leading lights in the field of human evolution.
He has also been on the podcast several times before to talk about all things varying from the origins of Homo sapiens to the first Britons to the mysterious story of a massive cranium discovered in China called Dragon Man. Now he's back to explain the story of the last Neanderthals. Enjoy. Chris, as always, it is such a pleasure to have you on the podcast.
It's a pleasure to be with you again.
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