[twofornone]

Neanderthals were a distinct genetic group. There's no reason to suggest that they weren't simply better adapted for the contemporary European climate before arrival of initial human populations. The humans who eventually outcompeted neanderthals in Europe were probably genetically and culturally distinct from those that originally arrived, assuming it took some number of generations to adapt to the northern geography/climate.

[anonporridge]

This is what I'm thinking. Neanderthals were genetically very well adapted to the climate, but they already mostly filled the niches.

Homo Sapiens came into an already crowded land, and had to take time to develop the cultural tools and knowledge sufficient enough to give them a large advantage over the more specialized genetics of the Neanderthals.

[raxxorrax]

I think it is far more likely they got the treatment which homo sapiens regularly gets from other homo sapiens. Andamanese for example are genetically distinct but certainly are homo sapiens but that didn't help for their survival in the end. There probably are many cases like this.

[brabel]

As the article says, humans interbred with Neanderthals to a degree that even today, Europeans have 2% of their genes coming from them.

It's possible that it was the "mixed" species that had the advantage over both the first human arrivals and the Neanderthals... with time, more human arrivals probably diluted the Neanderthals genes to the levels we see today.

[random314]

Alternatively, considering the mixed species weren't able to compete with the later human arrivals, or take over the human controlled areas in Africa - humans appear to have a distinct advantage over the mixed species.