text: The arrival of an advanced group of modern humans in Europe 40,000 years ago played a role in the demise of Neanderthals, scientists have claimed. Neanderthals were the dominant human species in Europe and much of Asia for around 250,000 years before vanishing entirely 41,000 years ago. Now scientists have found proof that a group of modern humans known as the Protoaurignacian culture arrived in southern Europe at around the same time the Neanderthals disappeared. Scientists took CT scans of teeth found at Riparo Bombrini in western Ligurian Alps (left) and in the Grotta di Fumane in western Lessini Mountains (right), both in Italy, and found they belonged to ancestors of modern humans who were part of a group known as the Protoaurignacian culture . They have been able to conclusively show that a pair of ancient baby teeth found at two prehistoric sites in northern Italy belong to modern humans from this culture. It has settled a debate that has raged since they were discovered in 1976, and later in 1992, over whether the teeth and other artefacts found with them were Neanderthal or Homo sapien in origin. An incisor found in Riparo Bombrini in western Ligurian Alps in 1976, and an upper incisor found in 1992, in the Grotta di Fumane in the western Lessini Mountains in Italy are among only three remains thought to have belonged to the Protoaurignacian culture - an early group of humans. Dr Benazzi and his colleagues at the CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology in Pisa, Italy, whose work is published in the journal Science, used CT scans of a tooth found in Riparo Bombrini. They found that the enamel on the crown of the teeth was thicker than that found on Neanderthal teeth and it was more similar in morphology to modern humans. Radio carbon dating also showed that it was 40,000 years old. Using advanced scanning and DNA analysis, researchers have now been able to prove that these teeth belonged to Protoaurignacian humans and are the oldest modern human remains in Europe. They suggest it was the arrival of this modern human culture that marked a turning point in humanity’s evolution and led to the rapid disappearance of Neanderthals in the face of their more advanced cousins. The Aurignacian culture that followed the arrival of these first modern humans produced the world’s earliest known musical instruments and the oldest wall art. They also produced advanced bone and antler based weapons, and are thought to have been behind a 40,000-year-old sculpture known as the Lion Man. Dr Stefano Benazzi, an archaeologist at the University of Bologna in Italy said: ‘What the results mean is that these two teeth represent the oldest European modern human fossils currently associated with an Aurignacian-related archaeological context. ‘Human fossil material is very rare, particularly well preserved deciduous teeth. ‘This finding suggests that the arrival of our species on the continent might have triggered the demise of Neanderthals, which likely disappeared around 39,000 years ago.’ There are very few archaeological remains of the Protoaurignacian culture from when they arrived in Europe. The baby teeth, found at two sites in north Italy shown above, are two of just three Protoaurignacian remains . Using advanced scanning and DNA analysis, researchers have proved the teeth belonged to this culture and that they are the oldest modern human remains in Europe. They suggest it was the arrival of this modern human culture (infant skull pictured left) led to the rapid disappearance of Neanderthals (skull pictured right) This fragment bird bone was engraved by inhabitants of a rock shelter  at Riparo Bombrini in north west Italy and is now known to have been made by the first modern humans in Europe who arrived 40,000 years ago . CT scans of the incisor found at Riparo Bombrini (above) showed it had thicker enamel than Neanderthal teeth and it was more similar in morphology to modern humans. Radio carbon dating also showed that it was 40,000 years old . An incisor found in Riparo Bombrini in western Ligurian Alps in 1976, and an upper incisor found in 1992, in the Grotta di Fumane in the western Lessini Mountains in Italy were among only three remains that  thought to have belonged to this early group of humans. They are often depicted as dim-witted evolutionary losers, but Neanderthals were not driven to extinction by their lack of brains. Instead, it is more likely that they disappeared 40,000 years ago because of interbreeding and assimilation with our early modern human ancestors, scientists believe. An analysis of archaeological evidence dating back 200,000 years strips away some of the myths surrounding Neanderthals and reveals they were more advanced and sophisticated than has widely been thought. Many researchers believe the differences between the two human species are not enough on their own to account for the demise of the Neanderthals. Neanderthals have been found to make stone tools and even made jewellery. Eight talons taken from a white-tailed eagle found at Neanderthal site in Krapina in Croatia were used to create a necklace or bracelet 130,000 years ago. They were found alongside a series of stone blades that had been made using advanced knapping techniques, other tools and simple ornaments. However, it has also been suggested that the teeth may have belonged belonged to Neanderthals, meaning they had also been capable of this advanced technology. Dr Benazzi and his colleagues at the CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology in Pisa, Italy, whose work is published in the journal Science, used CT scans of a tooth found in Riparo Bombrini. They found that the enamel on the crown of the teeth was thicker than that found on Neanderthal teeth and it was more similar in morphology to modern humans. Radio carbon dating also showed that it was 40,000 years old. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology also managed to extract mitochondrial DNA from the tooth found at Grotta di Fumane. They found it matched that of pre-agricultural modern humans. The researchers say that the findings prove that by 41,000 years ago modern humans of the Protoaurignacian culture were spreading across southern Europe. They believe that the advanced culture of these modern humans allowed them to outcompete and perhaps even overpower the Neanderthals who were established there. However, their results cannot exclude the possibility that the teeth came from individuals who were the result of interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans. Previous research has shown that the two species did interbreed and some researchers have suggested Neanderthals became absorbed into modern human populations. One of the teeth was found during an excavation of the Grotta di Fumane in northern Italy (shown above). The samples were found alongside a series of stone blades that had been made using advanced knapping techniques, other tools and simple ornaments . Evidence uncovered at the Riparo Bombrini rock shelter (above) suggests those who were living there 40,000 years ago had relatively advanced culture and technologies and so may have out competed Neanderthals .
target: Two incisors found in northern Italy have been confirmed to belong to modern humans who were part of the Protoaurignacian culture in Europe .
  These people had sophisticated tool making, early art and wore ornaments .
  Their arrival in southern Europe coincided with demise of the Neanderthals .
  Researchers used CT scanning and DNA analysis to identify origin of teeth .