In Eurasia, the situation was more complex.

The Neanderthals occupied a range that extended from western Europe through the Middle East and into central Asia.

They had been present in this range for hundreds of thousands of years — the earliest recognizably Neanderthal fossils date to approximately 400,000 years ago, and the characteristic Neanderthal anatomy was well-established by 200,000 years before present.

The Neanderthals were successful, long-lived occupants of their territory.

They survived ice ages and warm interglacials, adapted to the varying conditions of Pleistocene Eurasia, and developed regional variants of stone tool technology that show the kind of cultural evolution expected from cognitively capable beings.