Who were the Neanderthals? | DW Documentary

Long before Homo sapiens populated the earth, the Neanderthals lived in Eurasia. Now, paleoanthropologists in England and France are using new archeological methods to shed light on some previously unexplained Neanderthal mysteries. In an age clouded by the mists of time, the first early humans colonized the Eurasian continent. They settled on land that had only recently been covered by glaciers. This species, called Neanderthals, died out about 30,000 years ago -- but at one time, they formed the largest group in an area that stretched from northern France to the Belgian coast and from the Channel Islands to southern England. During the last Ice Age, the North Sea was frozen over -- and the English Channel was a small river that could easily be crossed on foot. The Neanderthals lived in close harmony with their perpetually changing environment. They had everything they needed to survive: the meat of prey animals, edible wild plants, water and wood for cooking and heating. How did these early humans devel