‘I was always led to believe that they wre just an earlier form of modern man~~ Neanderthals, Cro-Magnon and modern man....’
I don’t think that this theory has had any supporters since the early 19th century, when Neanderthals were first identified. The Cro-Magnons WERE Homo Sapiens Sapiens (modern man).
HA. I’m old but not that old. Ha. Well, My college anthropology courses spoke of the evolution of man from the early man to Neanderthal to Cro Magnon to Modern Human. Of course there is a constant evolution, as man has changed noticeably just since our arrival on this continent. Men of the Revolutionary War and Great War of Northern Aggression were much smaller and shorter lived than are we, so we can see evolution in our own families.