Final answer:
Neanderthals faced extinction due to several factors, including competition with Homo sapiens for resources, lower genetic diversity, and possibly disease transmission from Homo sapiens. Technological advancements and larger social groups likely gave Homo sapiens an advantage over Neanderthals.
Step-by-step explanation:
Differences between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals that may have contributed to Neanderthal extinction include several factors. While Neanderthals were physically larger and stronger, able to survive in colder conditions, Homo sapiens developed more complex technologies and language skills. Moreover, Homo sapiens lived in larger groups and had a higher genetic diversity, which proved advantageous for their survival and proliferation. Neanderthals lived in smaller, isolated groups with reduced genetic diversity and low birth rates, making them less adaptable to environmental changes and competition for resources. Genetic evidence has also shown that human-Neanderthal interbreeding occurred, with some human populations still carrying Neanderthal genes today. However, Homo sapiens may have brought diseases from Africa to which Neanderthals had no resistance, potentially acting as another factor in the Neanderthals' decline.
Interbreeding, technological advancements in Homo sapiens, and competition for resources are considered pivotal factors that gave modern humans the edge over Neanderthals. This combined with possible exposure to new diseases brought by Homo sapiens could have contributed to the Neanderthal extinction.