"Did Neanderthals wear embroidered shirts?" Where in Ukraine did the alpha predators of the Stone Age reside?

When it comes to Neanderthals, many people may conjure up a stereotypical image of a huge, unintelligent caveman wielding a club. However, recent studies could significantly alter this perception.

Who were they really, why is there so much buzz around them in the pseudo-scientific community, and did they inhabit the territory of Ukraine? Let’s delve into this.

(Not) Our Ancestors

The topic of Neanderthal origins is not frequently covered in popular media, which may have led some to mistakenly believe that they are our direct ancestors. Thus, it’s worth briefly touching on this subject before moving on.

Currently, there are many questions regarding the nuances of human evolution, and it should be noted — what follows is a simplification, but it is relevant as of early 2025.

The first true human, that is, a member of the genus Homo, is considered to be Homo erectus, a fossil species that appeared in Africa about 2 million years ago. There are earlier species, such as Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis, but their status remains contentious, and scientists debate whether to classify them as humans or as australopithecines (a genus of extinct higher primates).

Homo erectus is also regarded as the most successful human species, having lived for about 1.5 million years and spread across nearly the entire globe. One reason for this success was the active use of stone tools (although Homo erectus was not the first to do so).

If you’ve heard that the first humans were opportunists scavenging leftovers from other predators, you can forget that. There are studies suggesting that they were already widely hunting large game like hippos (!) and bulls. Considering that Homo erectus stood no taller than 1.5 meters, it takes a lot of confidence to charge at such dangerous creatures armed with only a sharp stone. Nevertheless, one could argue that this tendency to take high risks and "play big" influenced the subsequent evolution of all later human species.

Ultimately, a calorie-rich diet led to Homo erectus evolving into larger Heidelberg humans (Homo heidelbergensis) in Africa around 700,000 years ago, who would then spread throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Europe over the next 500,000 years.

It is believed that the broad habitat range and various ecosystems led to the emergence of Neanderthals from Heidelberg humans in Europe about 300,000 years ago. And 200,000 years ago, anatomically modern humans emerged from the same lineage in Africa.

Thus, Neanderthals are not our ancestors, but rather a parallel branch of evolution. They were noticeably different from us, yet not so different that it prevented our direct ancestors from interbreeding with them (yes, it would be tens of thousands of years before Tinder came into play). But more on that later.

Created to Dominate

Mass culture paints a picture of the Neanderthal as a massive barbarian with low intelligence. However, in reality, their height ranged from 164 to 168 cm for men and 152 to 156 cm for women, with weights around 77 kg and 66 kg, respectively. For comparison, early modern humans had an average height of 176 cm for men and 163 cm for women.

It’s also important to note that the brain volume of a Neanderthal was about 1410 cubic centimeters, which is larger than that of modern humans (1350 cm3). A Neanderthal skull with a volume of 1736 cm3 has even been discovered, which is an absolute record for hominids. Did this make them smarter than us? Not necessarily.

A study from 2013 indicates that Neanderthals had better-developed senses such as sight and smell, which required more brain resources. For instance, they had larger eyes (30x36 mm in Neanderthals compared to 27x33 mm in modern humans), which is believed to have allowed them to see better in low-light conditions.

However, the "anime-like" eyes of Neanderthals, while aiding their vision in twilight, hindered their ability to move their eyebrows, which play a crucial role in communication among modern humans. Interestingly, the same study noted that the need to process more visual information diverted brain resources from social skills and cognitive processes. Thus, sociability was definitely not a "trait" of these people.

As previously mentioned, Neanderthals couldn’t boast of great height, but their stocky bodies were characterized by powerful musculature, with muscle mass on average 25-40% higher than that of modern humans. Add to this a broad chest and denser bones, and you have the image of a real heavyweight athlete. Estimates suggest that they were 25-50% stronger than the average person. So, you wouldn’t want to pick a fight with this "killing machine."

Speaking of "killing machines," remember how Homo erectus hunted hippos with stones? Neanderthals might have scoffed at that and gone hunting for paleoloxodonts.

Paleoloxodonts were ancient relatives of elephants, reaching weights of 22 tons and heights of five meters. For comparison, the largest modern African elephants weigh no more than six tons and stand about 3.2 meters tall.

It’s worth noting that there is no clear evidence that Neanderthals threw spears or stones while hunting, as our ancestors did. Even after contact between our species, they seemingly did not adopt this technological innovation. Perhaps their bodies were simply not well-suited for such tasks.

This means that hunting ancient megafauna likely involved a group rushing toward the enormous beast and stabbing it with sharp sticks. By the way, judging by their leg structure and muscles, they could achieve great speed, but only over short distances. They were definitely not marathon runners, unlike our ancestors.

Neanderthals were not shy about showing "who's the boss in the cave" to other large predators — there is evidence that they hunted cave lions and bears, yes, also stabbing them with sharp sticks. Thus, they rightfully earned the status of alpha predator in ancient Europe.

Of course, such a lifestyle led to a significant number of injuries and high mortality rates among hunters, and there is ample evidence of ancient battles among fossil remains.

Barbarians?

However, these injuries also reveal another side of the lives of ancient hunters. Perhaps it’s appropriate to recall the find from the Shanidar cave in Iraq, known as "Shanidar One."

This refers to a Neanderthal man who died at around 40-50 years of age, which was considered very old for them. It is believed that due to some illness he lost all his teeth except one. Given the predominantly meat-based diet, he likely would not have been able to chew food properly without the help of his fellow tribesmen. Yet somehow, he survived and even managed to almost wear down that one remaining tooth.

Not impressive? This same man also had a number of other issues, including:

• a serious head injury, likely causing him to be blind in one eye;
• an amputated right arm;
• injuries to his legs and arthritis, making it difficult for him to move.

It’s clear that "Shanidar One" would not have survived long on his own; however, he continued to be cared for even though he was useless to the tribe.

The fact that Neanderthals behaved similarly to early modern humans is evidenced by numerous burial finds with flowers and tools. This indicates that they had some form of culture and possibly even the beginnings of religious beliefs.

For example, in Kiik-Koba (Crimea), a skeleton of an infant was found, carefully placed in a specially prepared pit.

Another important piece of evidence for the existence of culture could be traces of art. However, in Europe, these are more often associated with Homo sapiens, while such instances are rarer for Neanderthals.

Yet, they do exist! For instance, in February 2025, researchers conducted studies of artifacts found in the Manot, Amud, Kafzeh caves and at the Kunetra site (Israel and the Golan Heights), and determined that Neanderthals decorated stone tools with abstract designs. Not cave paintings, but still quite good.

All of this suggests that while Neanderthals may have lagged behind our ancestors in development, it was not by much.

Or Perhaps Our Ancestors After All?

Of course, ancient humans, the mammoth hunters who inhabited Europe before the arrival of modern humans, are fascinating, but interest in them has recently surged for reasons other than that.

Many have likely heard that modern humans carry <