The early modern humans were gracile; they were long limbed and slim, their bodies smooth. Their fragile bodies could not adapt to different environments so they adapted other environments to their needs.
Moving North into what is now Europe the early modern humans came in contact with the robust Neanderthals; they were stocky, short limbed, tough and hairy. They had entirely adapted themselves to living in the Ice Age.
The early modern humans developed the drill, and were able to put beads on a string while the Neanderthals had to tie their ornaments onto strings. From the drill the early modern humans developed the needle and with the needle they were able to make warm and waterproof boots and clothes. Suited and booted the humans were able to progress further into the frozen North than the Neanderthals in their animal skin ponchos. The humans tamed the wolf into the dog and learned to control the herds rather than hunt them. Cut off from the main food supply the Neanderthals withdrew to smaller, remoter places and became extinct.
It has recently been discovered in what is now Portugal that there was cross breeding between Neanderthals and early modern humans producing hybrid strains that survive in human communities to the present day. The traits that modern humans have inherited from the Neanderthals are short limbs, heavy bodies and hairy backs.
In tropical regions the early modern humans developed the loin cloth (resembling the modern thong) as the basic level of clothing, so in the modern world those whose features are essentially gracile look good in a thong and those with a touch of the robust may not.
ps. The earliest humans in North America used Clovis point spears, suggesting that that had followed the edge of the Atlantic ice shelf in small animal skin boats prior to the Asiatic peoples who arrived on the Ice Bridge.
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