Did the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon encounter with each other?

Answer 1

More than likely they did. It was quite possible that they may have interbred.

Answer 2

All fossil evidence indicates that they did indeed encounter each other in Europe between some 500,000-100,000 years ago. What became of Neanderthal man after that is in hot contention among anthropologists. Some think they were culturally eliminated through interbreeding with cro-magnon man (who, BTW, is basically 99.9% a modern homo sapiens sapiens), while others think they were battled to extinction by the same group.

Answer 3

Yes, with as much certainty as we have over anything this old! Aside from the fact that skeletons, tools and dwellings have been found from both Neanderthal and Cro-magnon at the same time-level, within "commuting" distance of one another, there are several skeletons, most notably some from caves in Israel and the former Rhodesia, that have traits from both hominids.

Sadly, the vicious, misogynistic picture of Neanderthals and the racist, intolerant views about them by Cro-magnon, painted by writers like Jean Auel in her series, "Clan of the Cave Bear", have colored the average non-archaeologists' view of these two mysterious species. She saw them as antagonistic and doomed to fight to extinction. I view this as simplistic and over-dramatized for the purposes of a work of fiction.

I prefer to believe that Cro-magnon came to rely on Neanderthal's
knowledge of the colder, peri-glacial climate in order to survive. Likewise, Neanderthal sites have been found in which Cro-magnon tools have been used, suggesting that Neanderthals quickly adopted the superior products of their cousins.

As for reproducing, only extensive mitochondrial DNA testing will reveal how much, if any, Neanderthal genetic heritage remains in us, the descendants of Cro-magnon. I believe that, since we share more than 99% of our DNA with chimps, that we shared enough to have mated with Neanderthal.

Still, that question remains unanswered (to most).

Answer 4

It is believed that at the end of the Neanderthal's existance, that they would have had random encoutners with Cro-magnan man.

Answer 5

Yes, almost certainly, in fact it was very probably competition from Homo Sapiens Sapiens that reduced the range and isolated groups of Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis, resulting in their extinction, and there would have been isolated skirmishes as well.