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Due to the first scientific depiction of Neanderthals, society views them as crass and brutish, lacking in sophistication and intelligence, but where society lags behind, science has now made the assertion that Neanderthals actually were far more complex than originally given credit for. They were certainly able to produce fire, make stone tools, clothing, even basic cloth, paints, bows, and may have had an articulate language. They had a fleshed out religion, which oftentimes practiced brutals, hence why we have so many examples of Neanderthals. They were alpha predators of their environment, mainly hunting megafauna, specifically the wooly rhino. It is argued that they are the primary reason for the wooly rhino’s extinction in Europe, which in turn may have led to their own extinction. 

The relationship between the Neanderthal and its surrounding megafauna is actually quite pivotal to understanding its extinction. The currently accepted theory on how and why Neanderthals went extinct was due to over hunting. Neanderthals were so successful in their hunting of megafauna, that they had no need nor will to diversify and learn how to hunt smaller organisms, like rabbits or foxes. When they eventually hunted the wooly rhino to extinction, they lacked the technological and cultural developments to hunt other prey. Due to their large size, their bodies' demand for food was much higher than their counterparts, so the temporary lack of resources affected them greater than it would have affected other proto-human species. In this strange relationship, their unparalleled success with hunting megafauna actually may have been the root to their downfall.