Dry period in Spain explains Neanderthals' last stand 18 May 2007 NewScientist.com news service While modern humans were taking over the rest of Europe, Neanderthals were somehow able to cling on in southern Iberia. Now a climate model has helped to explain why. It suggests the region became desert-like around 39,000 years ago, making it undesirable for modern humans. Pierre Sepulchre from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and colleagues modelled climate and vegetation patterns over the Iberian peninsula around 40,000 years ago. In particular they were interested in the impact of "Heinrich event 4" - an episode of sluggish...