Homo sapiens' 2% Social Edge May Have Driven Other Human Species to Extinction

1 articles · Updated · New Scientist · Oct 21

Researchers argue Homo sapiens may have outlasted Neanderthals and Denisovans not through superior strength or intelligence, but through greater friendliness and cooperation.
That proposed edge came from building larger social networks, stronger relationships and more effective collaboration, which could have improved survival over long periods.
The advantage may have been small—about 2%—but researchers say even that margin, compounded across thousands of years, could have reshaped human history.
The idea challenges the long-standing view that our species survived mainly because it was smarter, tougher or otherwise better adapted than other humans.