Final answer:
Modern humans had several advantages over Neanderthals, including more advanced toolmaking skills, complex language abilities, and control over fire. These elements likely contributed to their survival and eventual dominance over Neanderthals.
Step-by-step explanation:
A possible advantage that modern humans had over Neanderthals is that the former used more sophisticated and diverse tool kits, including blade tools during the Upper Paleolithic. These tools were crafted from a variety of materials such as antler, ivory, and bone, and they were more efficient due to their longer cutting edges compared to the round flakes of the Mousterian tools used by Neanderthals.
Apart from better tools, modern humans also developed complex language skills. Biologists believe that modern humans could produce around fifty different phonemes, allowing them to communicate effectively, coordinate tasks, share abstract ideas, and impart knowledge to future generations. These linguistic skills provided a significant advantage over Neanderthals, whose language capabilities are thought to have been more limited.
Lastly, the ability to control fire and use it effectively for cooking, protection, and socializing around a communal area also marked an important step for modern humans in their rise over Neanderthals. Fire control may have led to better nutrition and facilitated the development of social structures and cultural practices.