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| Close to 800,000 years ago, at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, hominins had evolved a larger brain, close in size to that of modern humans, but still retained a fairly large face and brow ridges and a less wellrounded skull. These hominins, sometimes classified as H. heidelbergensis and sometimes as "archaic H. sapiens, " lived in Africa, Europe, and Asia until about 200,000 years ago. These Middle Pleistocene hominins were definitely hunters and, by 300,000 years ago, had invented the Levallois technique of making stone tools, a process by which a core is shaped and a finished tool is removed with a single blow. Archaeological evidence shows that H. heidelbergensis was an efficient hunter. The fossil evidence also suggests that this species may have developed near-modern language capability. Two groups of hominins appear to have descended from the Middle Pleistocene hominins. One group was anatomically modern H. sapiens, whose origins are discussed in detail in the next Chapter. The other group was the Neandertals, large-brained humans with large noses and midfaces, as well as other anatomical differences. Neandertals lived in Europe and the Middle East. Physical differences and the recovery of ancient DNA have convinced a number of anthropologists that the Neandertals were a separate species that became extinct by 28,000 years ago. Other anthropologists argue that Neandertals mixed genetically with modern humans but made little contribution to our gene pool over time, perhaps because of their small numbers. In any event, the Neandertals were skilled toolmakers and hunter-gatherers who buried their dead. |