How Smart Were Neanderthals? 

Just want to clarify my opinion. I don't believe the Neanderthals were the intellectual equals of homo sapiens, far from it. Though, I do believe that they would be smart enough to "blend in" as it were. You could look at the same evidence and come to the opposite conclusion that they couldn't blend in. I suppose it depends on how you imagine the interbreeding between us occurring. Thanks for watching as always!

"Forward planning is a very human trait" Suddenly I question the humanity of a great bulk of people I know

"Our brain is designed to maintain relationships with 150 people." me, has a relationship with less than 10 people ._.

Neanderthals after 70k years BC: "we live in a society."

They survived 100,000 years under brutal conditions. They were either very clever or incredible hunters.

"As my wife can tell you..." "Speech, memory, self control, memory..." xD

With the 65 000 year old cave paintings found in 3 caves in Spain we can now be pretty sure that they showed symbolic behavior. These are the oldest cave paintings found yet, and there weren't any homo sapiens in Iberia at the time. That's some strong evidence for neanderthal smarts.

Well I did read a paper iirc from the University of Wyoming (?) where the researcher suggested many technological finds in areas shared by homo sapiens and neandertal were classified aurignacian by presumption, without any specific evidence. In fact what he said was that if a technological find near some neandertal remains also had even remotely nearby homo sapiens remains they were immediately classified aurignacian entirely because they were simply too advanced to be neandertal and that was that. He said in evidentiary procedure they could just as likely, in some cases more likely be late mousterian, he asserted there was no discernible difference between late mousterian and aurignacian technologies of the same periods, even suggested the possibility of interspecies trade or at least influence by interaction in either direction and supported the contention quite well as I recall, it was a lengthy paper with a lot of references. Given neandertal physiological display of survivalistic adaptations more severe than our own I would suggest at the very least independent problem solving in complex environments was hardly a shortcoming in their case and that says a lot about IQ upon a one to one basis. There is also recent medical studies based in Germany challenging strict models of regional brain function, for example recovering brain surgery patients with excised regions associated with specific functions have demonstrated the brain's ability to reform this same functionality in a completely different area of the brain, short version leading to various research concluding brain function is largely amorphous and not regionally bound by constraint but merely convenience, so whilst general trends do exist generally; in the case of brain injury or deformation a perfectly complete human brain function is quite able to generate or regenerate itself into a fairly unique format, such as in the case of one German girl, a patient of one of the neurosurgical researchers whom was born with only one hemisphere of her brain formed and yet, aside from early issues with seizures eventually controlled by medication is living a completely normal life as an intelligent university student with a good sense of humour, as she is described. So this research kind of blows out of the water presumptions that neandertal must be differently capable and lesser in ways for the shape of their brain cavity, because of rather outdated ideas of regional brain functionality.

"I'm sure you couldn't spot a Neanderthal walking on the streets today" Meanwhile, someone pointing at him on the street: "looks like a Neanderthal to me"

Awesome videos. Would love to hear more about the Denisovans too. The Denisovan tooth they found was so big they initially mistook it for the tooth of a cave bear!

You know it was one of those Neaderthals/Sapiens mixers. It was dark and we were drunk. We checked into the Cozy Cave motel down the road... and we got busy.

It's criminal that you have only 10k subs. I love your content and the care, thought and research goes into it. keep it up. :)

"As my wife can tell you, size is not everything." He's really focused on his moustache in this video huh?

I really like your channel, you make very good and informative videos in an interesting format. Keep up the good work!

Have you been to Walmart on a Saturday?

I always enjoy your point of view and your humorous humility. Thank you for sharing!

Just subbed, love your content, dude. Keep it coming

I'm genuinely confused why "grave goods" is a judge of intelligence. I'd have thought the act of burying their dead is act enough. Grave goods is an odd one because I've not once had any elderly friends and relative be buried with any goods. It doesn't seem to be a consistent act performed today so I'm not sure why it's used as a measure for so long ago.

Stefan, you're great. This video was a great break in between studying for my latin, greek, and german exams! As far as a neanderthal walking down the street, I totally believe that they would look different enough to be noticeable. A mid-size jacked up beast with a face that only a mother could love? Deffo different. But still human enough to the point where they might not cause too much of an uproar. On a side note, I was curious if you'd ever be interested in covering the evolution of language? I'm super into Proto-indo-european, and I feel like you're one of the only people that could do a video on it justice!!

Thank you so much for the interesting information presented in such a fun way. Your videos are definitely not boring.

I appreciate your continuous smile. Interesting videos. Thanks Stefan

I think the lack of progress in the development or innovation of Neanderthal tools have to do with a smaller social group, and the fact that they were most likely more isolated from one another

A question: Behavior wise i too think we would not recognize them(there are some pretty ...colorful characters... homo sapiens around and we still not notice them without talking to them) As it relates to the physical traits ,when we compare our height to theirs and say they were shorter the estimate for human height is 1.5-1.8.I am a tall guy 1.90 but i don't think i would reach tall a height back in the day with starvation malnutrition and heavy physical labour as a child. So the question is the average of human height for skeletons of the era is still taller than Neanderthals?

Great Video! Glad I found your channel!

I absolutely love your channel. More please

Not just primates, either. The Russian Blue cat takes longer to mature, and because of that has a larger brain in terms of the cerebral cortex. Having had a Russian blue, and having had a chance to compare it to other cats, I found the Russian Blue to be a quicker learner, understood simple commands, and even was able to grasp simple concepts. Finally, thank broad-hipped women for our human smarts!

Great video! Discovered your channel a few days ago. Very interesting content...

Howdy Stefan, I’m catching up slowly w/yur videos & as always appreciate the fact that scientists are making great strides thru technology & finally answering important questions about our neolithic “Cuzzins” & Yu have taken it upon yurself to communicate those findings ( my GF gets to hear yur ramblings whether she wants to or not ) but she enjoys yur extreme sense of humor displayed in this video ( the yodeler! ) so in short , we both enjoy yur sharing what’s new !

Great mustache you have there sir!

I watched your "Origins" video and now this one. I look forward to the next, and in the meantime I'm going to watch your video on Neanderthal sailors. I wonder what Sailor Neanderthal's transformation would look like?

You're such a good bean dude, thank you for all the good videos!

Very nice vids! The little details are also funny. Keep it up

this guy looks so friggin smug and happy all the time

Concerning your point on Neadrathal advancing beyond stone. I believe they were much like the Native Americans. There really wasn't a reason to advance. They had all the food they needed. They had dry caves to live in. They had animal skins and fire to keep them warm. They had a community to help with all those things. What more did they need? It could be argued that when homo sapiens appeared with better weapons, processes and language it was like Eve's apple. They were overwhelmed by technology that would kill them if they didn't adapt. In my personal opinion the two groups fought over resources and the Neadrathal genes we have today are the result of the ones ready to adapt either by choice or force because of the taking of women and children to replenish the ranks of homo sapiens lost due to disease, accident or other type loss. Basically, male Neadrathal were killed off, the females and children taken in raids were bred out of existence. It may be that in the one grave that described a flint tool by the chest may have been killed by that tool and he was buried with it still in him. That might be evidence to back up my assertion but we will never know. Another point I'd like to make, is that language must be very old indeed. The complexity required to tell another how to strike a piece of flint to make a tool, much less how to use that tool to make another tool, much less how to select flint, obsidian or chert to chip in the first place, it just boggles my mind. It takes apes almost a decade to learn to crack a nut with a rock just by watching the others do it. From that to teaching/telling others about chipping flint tools... Anyway, very interesting video. 🙂

Stellar content as always!

Great video and interesting channel. Subbed

Perhaps neands were somehow incorporated in sapien's family life and due much smaller number they "disappeared", i.e., they were all absorbed, leaving their legacy genetics to us (just a guess, heard nobody talking about it).

7:00 maybe the had no need to change because a lot of their problems were solved by being muscular.

Stefan, I enjoy your vids.

Really like your videos, good science and a touch of comedy. Your voice is easy to listen to.

Okay. I need to meet your wife. We need to start a support group for those who have husbands on YT that tell corny jokes. As always, great job. And you are making me wait a week for part 3?! I can’t!

In Krapina (Croatia) Neanderthals -- it was (belatedly) discovered -- used huge claws of very large hawks - carved so they can be used as ornaments (e.g., for a necklace). There are beautiful photographs and other documentation on this in situ decisive discovery on the leading location for Neanderthals

You make the history lesson fun and interesting...thanks !

Smashed that like button after the third "memory". Nothing like a fine mix of science and humour

The self deprecating humor cracked me up and made me laugh out loud. Crazy

You asked, "Why did they (the Neanderthals) die out? I might toss out another question for consideration. "Why did the Tasmanians die out? I fear it was for the same reason. Humans can be pretty rough on their neighbors, especially those who are "different."

Very good analysis - thank you!

Love ur channel, u had me with musash

Long feathers can be used to well stabilize the flight of a wood shaft.

I thought they lived in small extended family groups rather than tribal groups. That by itself would explain their relatively backward technology.

Well produced channel and content.

Very interesting and worthwhile video. Many thanks for the links to the papers. It would also be helpful if you posted links to the cited papers.

Love the little side jokes you add into your videos keep em coming!

I'm in the *99th percentile* for neanderthal DNA (according to 23andMe) I'm reconciled to being practically a hybrid species!!

cool video dude +1 sub also what a stache

Great videos!!

Are Neanderthals considered a separate species to Homo Sapiens? I thought that one way to differentiate between species is that they could not produce fertile offspring, but Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens clearly did and this confuses me. Love the videos mate, keep them coming :)

Great video, I do think Neanderthals were smart, perhaps in a different way than us but, they were successful at hunting big game with a pointy stick, that has got to be worth something!

Ok I wait for your next interesting program 😁

Cant wait for the next one

Neanderthal could yodel? If they find beer and bratwurst in a pit fire then the first Oktoberfest wasn't in Munich but in Düsseldorf (Neander Valley).

I disagree. I think Neanderthals were noticeably different. Their bones are far too noticeable. To think they looked a lot like humans seems disingenuous. Plus their eyes were much bigger. Potentially giving them much better night vision than us humans. Sure they have some behavioral similarities. And I certainly have their DNA in me. But it was likely far more complex than we could know. And those complexities could easily be noticed as differences.

Stefan your the best .I just like your vibe and you shoot for the truth no bias

I sure love that sensual yet masculine mustache.

First off, I like your videos - very informative. Just a few comments, chimps usually don't live in groups of more than around 50 but in the documentary "rise of the warrior apes" about a particularly aggressive group of chimps, that group is stated to have around 150 members. Second, Neanderthals caring for their elderly demonstrates the possibility that they felt compassion for each other and I agree they probably did but it also seems possible they just understood that the elders carried wisdom that the young had not yet necessarily learned so keeping them alive as teachers would have been useful. Last, this is just something that irks me, it's very common but I'm gonna bitch about it anyway. Neanderthals were human (homo neanderthalinsis). I understand you were comparing them to homo sapiens and it gets annoying saying homo sapiens all the time instead of just saying human but there have been several species of human and neanderthals were one of them. I'm sure people who have any understanding of human evolution don't need me explaining this but I guess I'm just a stickler about terminology. Anyway if you took the time to read my comment (late as I was to the party) then thank you.

At first i though Stefan Molenuex was trying something new

great vid man

On Neanderthal symbols I watched another video recently that demonstrated that most of the cave paintings in Europe are Neanderthals.

A lot smarter than the average clever fools that one meets nowadays

Around five ish minutes in, there's also the fact that lack of evidence is not evidence of lack, they may have placed a high value on things that degrade quickly, there are human cultures that do this, the impermanence is why gives things their symbolic value, and this tends to have an especially during expression in these peoples' funerary traditions.

I didn't know that Neanderthals wore sunglasses! Great video Stephan!

Love your channel/ The swedish nerd🤓

Neanderthals are clearly not extinct... I'm alive and well, and I'm a Neanderthal (at least partially). 😆

When I was at Uni 30 years ago, there was the theory that in addition to breeding with us, neanderthals were at a disadvantage given their caloric needs were about twice that of ours. It was a simple matter of it being easier for us to feed our kids. Has anyone seen a refutation of this?

amazing channel

1:24, I believe that's Franzl Lang, in school we used to play his music in the German class, hilariously awesome

Thank you. Did they die out, or did they become absorbed with sapien ?

I went to high school with a few Neanderthals. They are definitely in our society.

Great Job but you know the rule, no spoon, no like! Love you man, keep up the good work.

Surprisingly interesting video. By the way Stefan, your good wife doesn’t want to hurt your feelings but the size thing really does have a bearing on the issue at hand.

I have a feeling they didn't go extinct I feel like they probably eventually just kept having children with the other until we must of become some form of a hybrid between the two 🤔

Larger brain is always interpreted as higher intelligence, except when it comes to Neanderthals.

Could you make a playlist of all your Neanderthal videos? I would be so grateful.

Mustaches are sensuous, people are sensual. Got that wisdom from Animal House.

its silly to think neanderthals died out. why, i spoke to my neighbour yesterday, the strange high pitch vocalisations that come from his apartment at night are just fascinating, and whenever i play some music, the loud banging and yelling from his apartment is just further proof of their vast cognitive range!

I think they might have been smarter. Reason, to survive and raise a family in northern Europe with its variations in the seasons plus Ice ages, Neanderthals would require the ability to forward plan, which would require a high spatial iq. It would be impossible to survive the harsh winter environments otherwise.

i like your subtle humor

I'd like to sit down and have a chat with a Neanderthal. Seeing into the mind of someone so close yet also distant would be fascinating.

And some of us have 4% neanderthal DNA.

Like us. They were as smart as we are. The proof is that hybridization was possible and we have around 3% of Neandenthral genes. We have to stop thinking of them as "apes," and more like "Native Americans". They were painted with ocher and used feathers to decorate themselves. Many of the paintings found in Europe (as in Spain, my country) and, at first granted to sapiens, are now known to be his.

Good stuff!

Very good vid.

If Homo sapiens died out early enough they'd seem stupid too. Cave paintings weren't something we always did, and tool use was more primitive the further back you go. There's no reason to think Homo sapiens were more intelligent just because they happened to develop a few thousand years faster in the hundreds of thousands of years of their existence and happened to survive into the neolithic period. If history went differently, Homo sapiens could seem less intelligent than neanderthals. We have historically seen a wide variety of technological development even within Homo sapiens, but few people would use this as evidence of differing levels of intelligence when there are so many factors involved and significant breakthroughs are rare in the first place. In fact, the people who would make the argument that's it's a sign of differing intelligence are rightfully ostracised from society as racist. It's difficult to determine exactly how intelligent neanderthals were without any living specimens. Technology and symbolism only puts a minimum value on their possible intelligence, it doesn't indicate any upper limit.

Critical thinking? Perhaps we should ask, ""How smart are we"?

I’m so happy that you worked in franz Lang the yodeling king into this video.

Stefan are you related to david crosby the singer songwriter. Love your videos and your sense of humour

Neaderthals didnt go extinct, i have 319 of the 399 recognised markers so i am more neaderthal then most ppl, so i consider myself a hybrid

Better question, were there hipster neanderthals? Also I think neanderthals would be smarter than trump supporters.

That Far Side cartoon where Homo sapiens taunt neanderthals. Can't build a fire, can't make a spear...

As for the evolution (or apparent lack thereof) of their stone tool technology, there is some evidence that contact with Homo sapiens may have influenced some innovation in their tool design which didn't change much for the bulk of their history as a species prior to interspecies interaction with Homo sapiens.