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The Neanderthals mixed genes with modern man It is not decided yet whether Australopithecus evolved to Homo erectus in Africa migrating from there to most parts of the world, or whether variants of the species developed regionally, but recent gene data give some support for both concepts. Homo Neanderthalensis reached southern England as well as eastern Asia 350 000 years ago. H. sapiens reached the eastern coast of the Mediterranean 80 000 years ago, and central Europe about 40 000 years ago. Occasionally, their migratory paths met and resulted in a low-grade mix of genes. The Neanderthals were strongly built but shorter than modern humans. Their skulls were flat and somewhat elongated but the volume of the cranial cavity was about the same as in modern humans. Injuries on bones suggest that the Neanderthals had good healing capacity. They had lived in Europe and Asia for 300 000 years, and co-existed with modern humans for about 28 000 years, when they disappeared from their last safe haven in Gibraltar. The reason for this is not known but the explanation may perhaps be as simple as »the survival of the fittest«.

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