Which is why the Neanderthals probably had higher IQs than Africans. They were one of the smartest apex predators to ever walk the face of Earth. But the modern myth that the Neanderthals went extinct because of climate change is laughable. They didn't just slip on a little bit of ice and fall off the face of Earth. They were pushed.
It’s entirely possible that Neanderthals didn’t just die out, but rather ceased being a distinct group due to genetic swamping. They interbred and blended into the larger group. How many Europeans today have some Neanderthal ancestry? It’s like the smaller tribes that ceased to exist in the southeast. Either they joined with larger tribes or intermarried with European settlers. Either way, their genetics live on in nominally white and black people, as well as within those other larger tribes.
Saw a very interesting documentary on Neanderthals. Apparently they were even able to do some very basic smelting. The researchers, using tools etc. available to Neanderthals were barely - trace amounts - able to duplicate what the Ns had done and that was of course with probably much more knowledge of the smelting process than was known thousands of years ago.
Wish I could remember where I saw that documentary.