Were Neanderthals Wiped Out by What We Now Consider Childhood Illnesses?

Neanderthals are believed to have roamed the earth for roughly 410,000 years, dying out a mere 40,000 years ago as homo sapiens became the prevalent species of man.

Fossils found throughout modern day Siberia and England lead researchers to believe that Neanderthals traveled great distances during their time. It seems as though they were on their way to becoming a prominent species. After all, 400,000 plus years is a lot longer than homo sapiens have been around. But what exactly happened to the Neanderthals?

Researchers at the Downstate Health Sciences University in New York recently published a study in The Anatomical Record journal, that may show evidence of the cause for the extinction of Neanderthals. The study suggests that Neanderthals were plagued by ear infections--swimmer's ear in particular--and that this could have potentially caused them to completely die out.

Professor Samuel Marquez, a researcher on the study, explained that "it may sound far-fetched, but when we, for the first time, reconstructed the Eustachian tubes of Neanderthals, we discovered that they are remarkably similar to those of human infants."

According to the study, Neanderthals had small, child-sized ears. These smaller ears would have been the perfect breeding grounds for bacteria. And without the help of modern medicine, an ear infection could have been catastrophic.

"Middle ear infections are nearly ubiquitous among infants because the flat angle of an infant's Eustachian tubes is prone to retain the otitis media bacteria that cause these infections - the same flat angle we found in Neanderthals." Professor Marquez stated.

This is an apparent flaw in the evolution of the Neanderthal. Luckily, for us humans, our ears grow as we do.

The fact that Neanderthal ears were so small would have possibly generated numerous problems when attempting to hunt or forage for other materials needed for survival.

"It's not just the threat of dying of an infection," says Professor Marquez. "If you are constantly ill, you would not be as fit and effective in competing with your Homo sapien cousins for food and other resources."

"In a world of survival of the fittest, it is no wonder that modern man, not Neanderthal, prevailed."