Final answer:
B. FALSE. Neanderthals were adapted to cold climates, not hot, arid environments, falsifying the claim. They lived 30,000 to 200,000 years ago in Europe and Asia, and during ice age conditions, small groups of early humans were better suited to survival due to resource constraints. The excitement over Homo naledi arises from its contribution to our understanding of human evolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that Neanderthals were well adapted to living in hot, arid environments is False. Neanderthals, who were members of the genus Homo, evolved from Homo erectus and lived in Europe and western Asia between 30,000 and 200,000 years ago. They were actually well-suited for cold climates, as evidenced by their robust physiques, which were adapted to conserve heat. During the time when they coexisted with early modern humans in southern France and northern Spain, the climate was very cold. Resources were scarce during this period, and life was difficult.
The small and tight-knit groups formed by early humans in response to the ice age helped ensure their survival, as they could more easily move around in search of resources, which would have been harder for larger groups. This supports the answer to the Paleolithic Age question about small group survival, which is that it was hard to feed larger groups of people.
It is also incorrect to assume that humans are superior in all ways to other primates, as each species has adapted to its environment in different ways. The discovery of Homo naledi was exciting because it added to our understanding of human evolution and the diversity of our genus.