Of all the relatives of modern humans Neanderthals remain the most famous. There are far more Neanderthal specimens, artifacts, and fossils available for research than any other. Immense numbers of viable conclusions may be drawn about Homo neanderthalensis as they were the first ancient non-human relative ever discovered and have therefore been studied the most extensively over the greatest period of time (LaRose). However, there is one great mystery still unsolved about this species; what caused their extinction? The Replacement Model argues that Neanderthals became extinct as anatomically modern humans migrated into Europe and outcompeted them for their resources. This would have resulted in, and is the most likely theory of, Neanderthal
