basic thesis is man migrating from “the Levant” had dogs, and neanderthals had no dogs. that gave modern man a major advantage in hunting and allowed taking of any and all game, including mastodons which apparently were the favorite food.
also, the climate shifted and the hunting became more open, which was disadvantageous to the heavier bulkier Neanderthals but fit the lighter faster modern humans hunting with dogs. so basically the theory is modern man out hunted neanderthals.
the book has some interesting facts about the co-evolution of dog and man especially he ability to communicate via eye movement and eye color, which the author claims is unique to dogs and man. bit of a geeky read, but sounds like it could be right to me.
That’s interesting, but Neandertal didn’t die out. :’) Also, the book may have referred to the mammoth rather than the mastodon:
> ...the Eurasian species Mammut borsoni died out approximately three million years ago.
This is amusing and bemusing at the same time:
> Neanderthals... did seem to have one thing in common with rodeo riders: injuries. In 1995, paleoanthropologists Thomas Berger and Erik Trinkaus, now at Washington University in St. Louis, noted that Neanderthals had a disproportionate number of injuries to their heads and necks. The same is true among modern rodeo riders... Neanderthals’ [alleged] hunting style — sneaking up on prey and jabbing them with heavy spears — brought their upper bodies within striking distance of large, hoofed animals... Recently, in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Trinkaus... considered the injuries recorded in the bones of early modern humans... Statistically speaking... saw no difference between the two species’ wounds; they both suffered a lot of harm to the head and neck. This means ambush hunting may not account for all of these injuries because humans [allegedly] often hurled projectiles at animals while standing back at a safe distance. Recent archaeological work indicates Neanderthals might have done the same thing on occasion. Instead, the source of those injuries might have been violent attacks within or between the two species.
What it may mean is, the constant saddling on of reasons for alleged N extinction includes supposed differences in hunting styles. The differences basically don’t exist, and the anatomical differences that are supposed to be oh-so crucial are imaginary, much like the ongoing “Neandertal couldn’t talk” fiasco.