The long-held notion that Neanderthals were primitive and had inferior cognitive abilities were challenged by researchers who expressed that such beliefs were not supported by any scientific evidence.

Paola Villa of CU-Boulder and archaeologist Wil Roebroeks of the Netherland’s Leiden University examined existing data about the Neanderthals. They found out that the current data are not enough to support the belief that the Neanderthals were less advanced compared to humans that have more modern anatomical features.

"The evidence of cognitive inferiority is simply not there," Villa said in a university news release.

Several hypotheses on the reasons of the extinction of the Neanderthals were also negated by the research. These included factors such as their sub-communication abilities, inferior hunting prowess, and picky eating habits.

Furthermore, the researchers also cited several archaeological evidences from Europe that will give a different perspective on the lives of the Neanderthals. They pointed out they used to hunt as a group and had used the landscape to help them in their hunting. In Southwest France, a sinkhole was found which most likely had been used by Neanderthals to catch hundreds of bison by herding them and eventually leading them to the spot. In the Channel Islands, a deep ravine was found to have fossilized remains of five woolly rhinoceroses and 18 mammoths at its base.

These findings suggest that Neanderthals had the ability to plan ahead, work and communicate as a group, and take advantage of their present surroundings. Other findings also suggested that Neanderthals had a diverse diet, a communication system based on symbols, and culture-based rituals.

The researchers’ current argument states that the real reason Neanderthals ceased to exist has a complex nature. One notable explanation of such is the presence of reduced fertility as a result of the male children born out of the interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals whose preference to live in small groups led them to be swamped and assimilated by the rising population of modern immigrants.

Further details of the study can be read on the April 30 issue of PLOS ONE.