[ARCHAEOLOGY]
【考古學】
(Image credit: Alamy)
Modern interpretations of Neanderthal looks include ginger hair (Credit: Alamy)
By Melissa Hogenboom
（圖片來源：Alamy ）
尼安德特人外觀的現代詮釋包括薑黃色的頭髮（來源：阿拉米）
梅利莎·霍根鮑姆（Melissa Hogenboom）
29th January 2020
In many ways, the last surviving Neanderthals are a mystery. But four caves in Gibraltar have given an unprecedented insight into what their lives might have been like.
在許多方面，最後倖存的尼安德特人是一個謎。但是，直布羅陀的四個洞穴使人們對他們的生活有了前所未有的了解。
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Forty thousand years ago in Europe, we were not the only human species alive – there were at least three others. Many of us are familiar with one of these, the Neanderthals. Distinguished by their stocky frames and heavy brows, they were remarkably like us and lived in many pockets of Europe for more than 300,000 years.
四萬年前，在歐洲，我們不是唯一活著的人類，至少還有三個。我們中的許多人都熟悉其中之一，尼安德特人。它們以粗壯的眉毛和濃密的眉毛而出名，與我們一樣格外顯眼，在歐洲很多地方生活了30萬多年。
For the most part, Neanderthals were a resilient group. They existed for about 200,000 years longer than we modern humans (Homo sapiens) have been alive. Evidence of their existence vanishes around 28,000 years ago – giving us an estimate for when they may, finally, have died off.
在大多數情況下，尼安德特人是一個有韌性的團體。它們的存在時間比我們現代人類（人類）的生存時間長約20萬年。它們存在的證據大約在28,000年前就消失了，這使我們估算了它們最終何時會死掉。
Fossil evidence shows that, towards the end, the final few were clinging onto survival in places like Gibraltar. Findings from this British overseas territory, located at the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, are helping us to understand more about what these last living Neanderthals were really like. And new insights reveal that they were much more like us than we once believed.
化石的證據表明，到最後，最後幾個人在直布羅陀等地堅持生存。來自這個位於伊比利亞半島南端的英國海外領土的發現，正在幫助我們進一步了解這些現存的尼安德特人的真實面貌。新的見解表明，他們比我們更像我們曾經認為的那樣。
A reproduction of a Neanderthal family on display at the Field Museum of Natural History at Chicago, Illinois (Credit: Getty Images)
尼安德特人家庭的複製品在伊利諾州芝加哥的自然歷史博物館上展出（來源：蓋蒂圖片社）
In recognition of this, Gibraltar received Unesco world heritage status in 2016. Of particular interest are four large caves. Three of these caves have barely been explored. But one of them, Gorham's cave, is a site of yearly excavations. "They weren't just surviving," the Gibraltar museum's director of archaeology Clive Finlayson tells me of its inhabitants.
認識到這一點，直布羅陀在2016年獲得了聯合國教科文組織的世界遺產地位。特別令人感興趣的是四個大洞穴。這些洞穴中的三個幾乎沒有被勘探過。但是其中一個，即高罕（Gorham）的洞穴，是每年發掘的地點。直布羅陀博物館的考古學負責人克萊夫·芬利森（Clive Finlayson）向我介紹了其中的居民：「他們不僅僅是倖存下來。」
"It was in some way Neanderthal city," he says. "This was the place with the highest concentration of Neanderthals anywhere in Europe." It’s not known if this might amount to only dozens of people, or a few families, since genetic evidence also suggests that Neanderthals lived in 「many small subpopulations」.
他說：「這在某種程度上是尼安德特人的城市。」 「這是在歐洲任何地方尼安德特人最集中的地方。」 由於遺傳證據還表明尼安德特人生活在「許多小亞群」中，因此尚不知道這可能只涉及數十個人或幾個家庭。
Their occupation in Gibraltar was first established in 1848, with the discovery of the first fully adult Neanderthal skull. Since then bones of seven other Neanderthal individuals have been found, as well as numerous artefacts they used in their daily lives, such as tools, animal remains and shells.
他們在直布羅陀的佔領始於1848年，當時發現了第一個完全成年的尼安德特人頭骨。從那以後，還發現了另外七個尼安德特人的骨頭，以及他們在日常生活中使用的許多人工製品，例如工具，動物遺骸和貝殼。
We can date each discovery based on where it was found. Inside Gorham's cave there are many metres of sediment layers. Each layer depicts a different point in geological time. Fossil remains discovered in these layers suggest that Gibraltar’s Neanderthals occupied the cave on and off for more than 100,000 years.
我們可以根據發現地點的日期來定日期。在戈勒姆（Gorham）的洞穴內，有數米的沉積物層。每層都描述了地質時間的不同點。在這些層中發現的化石遺蹟表明，直布羅陀的尼安德特人斷斷續續地佔領了這個洞穴超過100,000年。
Neanderthals may have clung on in the region until as recently as 24 to 33,000 years ago, according to the dating of one of the layers in Gorham's cave. This puts this area as one of the last known places where Neanderthals lived.
根據戈爾漢姆洞穴中某一層的年代，尼安德特人可能一直在該地區流行，直到24至33,000年前。這使該地區成為尼安德特人居住的最後已知地方之一。
They may have spread to the surrounding coastal areas too, but the water has risen considerably in the last 30,000 years. This means any other fossil evidence has long been submerged. "We are lucky that in Gibraltar because of its steep cliffs, the evidence has stayed in these caves," says Clive.
它們可能也已經擴散到周圍的沿海地區，但是在過去的30,000年中，水的含量已大大增加。這意味著任何其他化石證據早已被淹沒。克萊夫說：「我們很幸運，由於直布羅陀陡峭的懸崖，證據仍然存在於這些洞穴中。」
Clive, along with his wife Geraldine and son Stewart, has been excavating these caves for many years. All three are scientists.
克萊夫與他的妻子傑拉爾丁和兒子斯圖爾特一起，多年來一直在挖掘這些洞穴。這三位都是科學家。
While the front part of the cave is relatively open, bathed in natural sunlight with a direct view of the ocean, the back is darker and splits off into several chambers. The caves remain cool in the summer and slightly warm in the colder months – a perfect place to rest tired eyes and stay safe from dangerous predators.
洞穴的前部相對開放，沐浴在自然的陽光下，可以直接看到海洋，而後部則更暗，並分成幾個小室。洞穴在夏季保持涼爽，在較冷的月份則略微溫暖，是休息疲憊的眼睛並遠離危險食肉動物的安全場所。
Clive Finlayson, the Gibraltar museum's director of archaeology, says Neanderthals could have thrived in Gorham's cave (Credit: BBC Earth)
直布羅陀博物館的考古負責人克萊夫·芬拉森（Clive Finlayson）說，尼安德特人可能已經在戈勒姆的山洞裡繁榮了起來。
Kissing cousins
表親接吻
Like the rest of their species, the Neanderthals who lived here were far from what we once pictured – a brutish, stocky group of primitive humans who could only grunt to communicate and violently wield their clubs before anyone who got too close.
像其他物種一樣，住在這裡的尼安德特人與我們曾經想像的相去甚遠-一群粗魯，矮胖的原始人類，他們只能咕咕咕地交流，並在離得太近的人面前猛烈揮舞俱樂部。
In fact, as the University of Colorado Boulder’s Paola Villa put it in a review, they were much like us: we need to dispel "the modern human superiority complex". This is strengthened by genetic insights. Not only do we share 99.5% of the same DNA, we still carry some Neanderthal DNA today.
實際上，正如科羅拉多大學博爾德分校的Paola Villa所評論的那樣，它們與我們非常相似：我們需要消除「現代人的優越感」。遺傳學見解加強了這一點。我們不僅共享相同DNA的99.5％，而且今天仍然攜帶一些尼安德特人DNA。
That’s because when we arrived into Europe from Africa, we met each other several times and interbred with them. All individuals outside of Africa still carry evidence of this prehistoric mingling. I discovered a few years ago that I have 2.5% Neanderthal DNA. There’s a lot of it out there – across thousands of individuals, researchers have identified a combined total of 20% Neanderthal DNA in modern humans today.
這是因為，當我們從非洲到達歐洲時，我們相遇了幾次，並與他們雜交。非洲以外的所有個人仍然攜帶著這種史前交融的證據。幾年前，我發現我有2.5％的尼安德特人DNA。那裡有很多東西-研究人員已經在成千上萬的個體中發現了當今現代人類中總共20％的尼安德特人DNA。
Discoveries at Gorham’s cave have helped give us many more insights like these, especially about their last years on Earth.
戈勒姆（Gorham）洞穴的發現幫助我們提供了更多類似的見解，尤其是關於它們在地球上的最後幾年。
Remains from the cave suggest that they exploited seafood and marine mammals. This is unsurprising given new evidence published in January 2020 that suggests they could swim. There is even evidence that they hunted dolphins, says Clive Finlayson. How they did so remains unclear, but we do know they hunted – or scavenged – large game like woolly mammoths, woolly rhinos, deer and ibex. (Read about the drowned landscape where Neanderthals lived.)
洞穴裡的遺物表明他們利用了海鮮和海洋哺乳動物。鑑於2020年1月發布的新證據表明它們會遊泳，這不足為奇。克萊夫·芬萊森說，甚至有證據表明他們獵殺了海豚。他們如何做到還不清楚，但我們確實知道他們獵捕（或撿拾）大型活動，例如羊毛猛ma，羊毛犀牛，鹿和高地山羊。（回想一下尼安德特人居住的淹沒景觀。）
The fossilised skull of a Neanderthal found on Gibraltar is displayed at the Natural History Museum in London (Credit: Getty Images)
在直布羅陀發現的尼安德特人的化石頭骨在倫敦自然歷史博物館展出（來源：Getty Images）
The remains of more than 150 different species of bird have also been uncovered in Gorham's cave, many with tooth and cut marks, which suggests Neanderthals ate them.
戈勒姆（Gorham）的洞穴中還發現了150多種不同鳥類的遺體，其中許多都有牙齒和切割痕跡，這表明尼安德特人食用了它們。
There is even evidence they caught birds of prey, including golden eagles and vultures. We don't know if they laid out meat and then waited for the right opportunity to go in for the kill, or whether they actively hunted birds, a much more difficult task. What we do know is that they didn't necessarily eat all the birds they were hunting, especially not the birds of prey like vultures – which are full of acid.
甚至有證據表明它們捕獲了猛禽，包括金鷹和禿鷹。我們不知道他們是否放下肉，然後等待適當的機會殺人，或者他們是否積極狩獵鳥類，這是一項艱巨的任務。我們所知道的是，它們並不一定要吃掉所有他們狩獵的鳥，特別是不是像禿v那樣充滿酸性的猛禽。
"Most of the cut marks are on the wing bones with little flesh. It seems they were catching these to wear the feathers," says Clive Finlayson. They seem to have preferred birds with black feathers. This indicates they may have used them for decorative purposes such as jewellery.
克萊夫·芬萊森說：「大多數割傷痕跡都在肉骨很少的翼骨上。看來它們是抓住它們來穿羽毛的。」 他們似乎喜歡黑色羽毛的鳥類。這表明他們可能將其用於裝飾目的，例如珠寶。
To show me exactly what he meant, Clive and his team reconstructed some intriguing Neanderthal habits. A dead vulture, carefully kept frozen, was brought out and dissected in front of me, to show how Neanderthals might have done so thousands of years earlier.
為了確切地告訴我他的意思，克萊夫和他的團隊重建了一些有趣的尼安德特人習慣。一隻禿鷹經過精心冷凍，被帶出並解剖在我的面前，以展示尼安德特人如何在數千年前這樣做。
They carefully removed the bird's body tissue. What was left appeared to be a stunning and elaborate black-feathered decorative cape, extending, of course, the length of the vulture's wing span. They may have wrapped this around their shoulders, Clive says.
他們小心翼翼地除去了鳥的身體組織。剩下的似乎是一個令人驚嘆且精緻的黑色羽毛裝飾披肩，當然延伸了禿鷹的翼展長度。克萊夫說，他們可能已經把它裹在肩膀上了。
Neanderthals could have caught vultures to use their feathers for decoration (Credit: BBC Earth)
尼安德特人本來可以捕食禿鷹來用羽毛裝飾的（來源：BBC Earth）
This all points to one thing: that Neanderthals had a sophisticated understanding and appreciation of cultural symbols.The fact that Neanderthals could, and would, take these steps – including the creativity and abstract reasoning required to turn a flying animal into a decorative cape – shows that their cognitive skills could have been on par with ours. And regardless of exactly how intelligent they were, their creation of these kinds of cultural artefacts is one of the defining traits of humanity.
這一切都說明了一件事情：尼安德特人對文化符號有著深刻的理解和欣賞。尼安德特人可以而且願意採取這些步驟，包括將飛行的動物變成裝飾性鬥篷所需的創造力和抽象推理這一事實表明：他們的認知能力可能與我們的認知能力相當。而且，不管它們究竟有多聰明，它們對這些文化文物的創造都是人類定義的特徵之一。
Ancient artists
古代藝術家
They may even have been producing art. In one surprising 2014 discovery, the Finlaysons found a marking on the wall of Gorham's cave, dubbed the "Neanderthal hash tag". This was the first evidence of Neanderthal art, Geraldine says.
他們甚至可能一直在創作藝術品。在2014年的一個令人驚訝的發現中，Finlaysons在Gorham的洞穴壁上發現了一個標記，被稱為「尼安德特人的哈希標籤」。傑拉爾丁說，這是尼安德特人藝術的第一個證據。
Despite its crudity, Geraldine assures me that lots of preparation would have gone into it. "It wasn’t something that happened by a mistake or as a result of a doodle… some thought process was going on," she says.
儘管很粗魯，傑拉爾丁向我保證，要做好很多準備工作。她說：「這不是因為錯誤或塗鴉而發生的……某些思考過程正在進行中。」
When archaeologists tried to re-make the design themselves, they found that the deepest groove required 60 strokes of a sharp stone tool. "It was clear it was something intentional,」 Geraldine says.
當考古學家試圖自己重新設計時，他們發現最深的凹槽需要用鋒利的石器工具擊打60次。「很明顯，這是故意的，」傑拉爾丁說。
Further discoveries of decorative shells and the use of red ochre pigment at Neanderthal sites also points to the possibility they used objects for art. Again, if this is the case, it shows Neanderthals had symbolic abilities once thought to be uniquely human. In 2018 in Spain, more cave paintings of animals and geometric shapes were attributed to Neanderthals. This time they dated even earlier – to 64,000 years ago.
在尼安德特人的遺址上進一步發現了裝飾性貝殼和使用了紅色o石顏料，這也表明他們將藝術品用作藝術品的可能性。同樣，如果是這樣的話，這表明尼安德特人曾經具有象徵能力，曾經被認為是獨特的人類。在2018年，尼安德特人（Neanderthals）將更多的動物洞穴和幾何形狀的洞穴壁畫歸功於尼安德特人。這次他們約會得更早–距今64,000年前。
Cave paintings found in mainland Spain were created 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe, possibly by Neanderthals some 65,000 years ago (Credit: Getty Images)
在西班牙大陸發現的洞穴壁畫是在現代人類到達歐洲之前20,000年創造的，可能是大約65,000年前的尼安德特人（Neanderthals）創作的。
If they were capable of producing symbols like art and jewellery, it might not surprise you that recent studies indicate they also had sophisticated language abilities.
如果他們能夠產生諸如藝術和珠寶之類的符號，那麼最近的研究表明它們也具有複雜的語言能力，這可能並不會讓您感到驚訝。
In one 2013 study looking at a bone known to be crucial for speech – the hyoid bone – a team found that the Neanderthal’s version worked just like ours.
在2013年的一項研究中，研究人員發現了對於語音來說至關重要的骨頭-舌骨-團隊發現尼安德特人的骨頭與我們的骨頭一樣工作。
If Neanderthals also had language then they were truly human, too – Stephen Wroe
The team, led by Stephen Wroe, from the University of New England, Armidale, NSW Australia, told me at the time that their computer model indicated Neanderthals could therefore speak just like us. At the time of his discovery, he said: "Many would argue that our capacity for speech and language is among the most fundamental of characteristics that makes us human. If Neanderthals also had language then they were truly human, too."
如果尼安德特人也有語言，那麼他們也是真正的人類–史蒂芬·羅
由新南威爾斯州澳大利亞阿米代爾市新英格蘭大學的史蒂芬·沃（Stephen Wroe）領導的團隊當時告訴我，他們的計算機模型表明尼安德特人可以像我們一樣說話。在他被發現時，他說：「許多人認為我們的言語和語言能力是使我們成為人類的最基本特徵之一。如果尼安德特人也有語言，那麼他們也是真正的人類。」
If they could speak, then they could efficiently transmit information to each other, such as how to make tools. They may even have taught us modern humans a thing or two.
如果他們會說，那麼他們就可以有效地相互傳遞信息，例如如何製作工具。他們甚至可能教會了我們現代人類一兩件事。
Finlayson says the steep cliffs on Gibraltar have helped to preserve Neanderthal remains (Credit: Getty Images)
芬利森說，直布羅陀的陡峭懸崖幫助保護了尼安德特人的遺體（來源：蓋蒂圖片社）
There is now evidence that suggests this is exactly what happened when Neanderthals and modern humans came into contact. A type of bone tool, discovered at a known Neanderthal site, later was also found where only modern humans lived.
現在有證據表明，這正是尼安德特人和現代人類接觸時發生的事情。在已知的尼安德特人遺址發現的一種骨骼工具，後來也被發現只有現代人類居住。
The team, led by Marie Soressi of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, analysed known Neanderthal sites from about 40-60,000 years ago. The tools they found were actually fragments of rib bones from deer and were most likely used to help make animal hide softer, possibly for clothes. "This type of bone tool is very common… in any sites used by modern humans after the demise of the Neanderthals," Soressi told me in an interview for BBC Earth.
該小組由荷蘭萊頓大學的瑪麗·索雷西（Marie Soressi）領導，分析了大約40-6萬年前的已知尼安德特人遺址。他們發現的工具實際上是鹿的肋骨碎片，最有可能被用來使動物的皮變得更柔軟，可能用於衣服。「這種類型的骨工具是很常見.在尼安德特人的滅亡後使用的現代人類任何網站，」 Soressi告訴我在BBC地球的採訪。
This points to one thing, she says: the modern humans who had met Neanderthals copied their use of bone tools. "For me, it’s potentially the first evidence of something being transmitted from Neanderthals to modern humans.
她說，這指向一件事：遇到尼安德特人的現代人類複製了他們使用骨骼工具的方式。「對我來說，這可能是從尼安德特人傳播到現代人類的第一個證據。
When we lived closer to the equator, we didn’t have a need for warmer clothes. Neanderthals, on the other hand, had lived in the colder European climates for many years before modern humans arrived. Learning how Neanderthals dealt with the cold would have been of great benefit to us.
當我們住在赤道附近時，我們並不需要更暖和的衣服。另一方面，尼安德特人在現代人類到來之前已經在歐洲寒冷的氣候中生活了多年。了解尼安德特人如何應對感冒將對我們大有裨益。
Many researchers, including Soressi, now argue that meeting other early humans may therefore have been crucial for us to become the successful species we are today.
現在，包括Soressi在內的許多研究人員爭辯說，因此與其他早期人類會面可能對於我們成為當今成功的物種至關重要。
Finlayson and colleagues at Gorham’s Cave – the last known place where Neanderthals lived? (Credit: BBC)Finlayson和同事在Gorham's Cave（尼安德特人居住的最後一個已知的地方）（信用：英國廣播公司）
That Neanderthals used many different tools again reveals how similar they were to us. Like us, they were able to successfully adapt and exploit their environment.
尼安德特人再次使用了許多不同的工具，這揭示了它們與我們的相似之處。像我們一樣，他們能夠成功地適應和利用他們的環境。
"Neanderthals were much more evolved than what we used to think," Soressi says. "We are now at a turning point where we should consider that Neanderthals and contemporaneous modern humans were equal in many domains.」
Soressi說：「尼安德特人比我們以前想像的要進化得多。」 「我們現在正處於一個轉折點，我們應該考慮到尼安德特人和同時代的現代人類在許多領域都是平等的。」
This becomes even more apparent considering additional evidence that suggests they buried their dead, too – another important cultural ritual showing 「complex symbolic behaviour」.
考慮到更多證據表明他們也埋葬了死者，這一點變得更加明顯。這是另一種重要的文化儀式，顯示出「複雜的象徵行為」。
Last Neanderthals
最後的尼安德特人
But there were also clear differences between Neanderthals and modern humans. It is telling that we are here today and they are not. And as they reached the last few millennia of their existence, they were facing new challenges – ones they weren’t as well equipped to deal with as modern humans proved to be.
但是，尼安德特人與現代人類之間也存在明顯的差異。這說明我們今天在這裡，而現在不在。當他們到達生存的最後幾千年時，他們面臨著新的挑戰-他們沒有像現代人類證明的那樣具備足夠的應對能力。
John Stewart of the UK’s Bournemouth University points to his work looking at the different hunting strategies of humans and Neanderthals. The latter, he says, did not exploit smaller game, such as rabbits, as much as modern humans did. Though there is some evidence from Gorham's cave that Neandertals hunted rabbits, Stewart says they hunted less of them than we did.
英國伯恩茅斯大學的約翰·斯圖爾特（John Stewart）指出，他的工作著眼於人類和尼安德特人的不同狩獵策略。他說，後者並沒有像現代人那樣利用較小的遊戲，例如兔子。儘管從高漢姆的洞穴中有一些證據表明尼安德特人獵殺了兔子，但斯圖爾特說，他們捕獵的兔子比我們少。
Their close-combat hunting tactics, which had served them well for larger game, may have made it much more difficult to catch enough rabbits to sustain them when other food was in short supply. "I think modern humans had more technologies to catch these fast-moving smaller prey items, like nets or traps. Certainly when times got tough modern humans always had more at their disposal," he says.
他們的近戰狩獵策略為大型比賽提供了很好的條件，但在其他食物短缺的情況下，捕獲足夠多的兔子來維持它們的困難可能會變得更加困難。他說：「我認為現代人擁有更多技術來捕捉這些快速移動的較小的獵物，例如網或陷阱。當然，當艱難時期，現代人總會擁有更多的支配權。」
Climatic evidence shows that Neanderthals also were existing in an increasingly hostile environment. Extreme cold periods in other parts of Europe pushed them further south until they arrived in areas like Gibraltar.
氣候證據表明，尼安德特人也存在於日益敵對的環境中。歐洲其他地區的極端寒冷時期將它們推向南方，直到它們到達直布羅陀等地區。
"Every few thousand years in Europe and Asia, the climate was drastically changing from relatively warm to bitterly cold," says Chris Stringer, research leader in human origins at the Natural History Museum in London. "As this was happening over and over again, they were never able to build up their diversity."
倫敦自然歷史博物館人類起源研究負責人克裡斯·斯特林格（Chris Stringer）表示：「在歐洲和亞洲的每隔幾千年，氣候都從相對溫暖到嚴寒。「由於這種情況一遍又一遍地發生，他們再也無法建立自己的多樣性。」
A reconstruction of a Neanderthal burial at Chapelle-aux-Saints, France (Credit: Getty Images)
法國Chapelle-aux-Saints的尼安德特人墓葬的重建（來源：Getty Images）
This means that by the time the last Neanderthals reached their final place on Earth they were very inbred – bad news for a population that was already dwindling.
這意味著，當最後的尼安德特人到達地球上的最後位置時，他們已經非常自交-對於已經在減少的人口來說，這是個壞消息。
At the same time, a 2019 finding also proposes that their fertility was declining, perhaps due to a lack of food, as infertility can be a result of decreasing body fat. The research paper, led by Anna Degioanni from the Aix-Marseille University in France, proposed that even 「a slight change in the fertility rate of younger females could have had a dramatic impact on the growth rate of the Neanderthal [population] and thus on its long-term survival」.
同時，2019年的一項研究還提出，他們的生育能力正在下降，這可能是由於食物不足造成的，因為不育可能是由於體內脂肪減少所致。由法國艾克斯-馬賽大學的安娜·德焦安尼（Anna Degioanni）領導的研究論文提出，即使「年輕女性的生育率略有變化，也可能對尼安德特人（人口）的增長率產生巨大影響，因此它的長期生存」。
For the last years, then, it was a numbers game. "The whole story of the extinction has to be looked at over a long period of time," says Clive Finlayson. Their population may have become so small that eventually they reached "a point of no return".
在過去的幾年中，那是一場數字遊戲。克萊夫·芬萊森說：「滅絕的整個故事必須經過很長一段時間才能看到。」 他們的人口可能變得如此之小，以至於最終他們達到了「無可挽回的地步」。
Unfortunately, this means that although the last Neanderthals were living in much the same way as their ancestors had done for many years before them, climatic changes meant that it was not enough to ensure their survival.
不幸的是，這意味著儘管最後的尼安德特人的生活與他們祖先多年以前的生活方式大致相同，但氣候變化意味著這不足以確保他們的生存。
Large parts of the Neanderthal genome still lives on in modern humans (Credit: Alamy)
尼安德特人的基因組大部分仍生活在現代人類中（來源：阿拉米）
This in turn would have had a direct impact on their ability to innovate and spread culture. If life only becomes a battle for survival, other things like culture may fall by the wayside. In their last years on Earth, it would not have taken much competition from other humans, animals or disease to finish them off.
反過來，這將直接影響他們的創新和傳播文化的能力。如果生活僅是為生存而戰，那麼文化等其他事物可能會被拋在一邊。在地球上的最後幾年，不需要其他人類，動物或疾病的激烈競爭就能使它們滅絕。
But while their species is said to be extinct, they are not entirely gone. Large parts of their genome still lives on in us today. The last Neanderthals may have died – but their stamp on humanity will be ensured for thousands of years to come.
但是，儘管據說它們的物種已經滅絕，但它們並沒有完全消失。今天，他們大部分的基因組仍然生活在我們裡面。最後的尼安德特人可能已經死了，但是他們在人類身上的印記將在數千年內得到保證。