Homo sapiens sardinensis

Homo sapiens sardinensis (meaning 'wise Sardinian man') is an extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens who lived in the Western Mediterranean between 120-90,000 years ago.

Evolution
The ancestors of sardinensis first began migrating into the Mediterranean in 140,000 BCE. Both sapiens and neanderthalensis who had developed primitive watercraft soon began to settle on the various uninhabited islands there. Though some initial conflict between Sapiens and Neanderthal did occur, low population densities led to a more peaceful coexistence between the two groups than in other regions of the world. Over a 20,000 year period, interbreeding between the two human species as well as adaptation for colder European climates led to the emergence of sardinensis as a unique subspecies of H. sapiens.

Biology
Two features distinguish sardinensis from other contemporary humans. First, the shared lineage with Neanderthals. Modern testing has shown that some sardinensis share up to 30% of their DNA with Neanderthals, far greater than the 5% average of H. Sapiens populations worldwide. Second, the adaptations to cold weather. Anthropologists have found that sardinensis individuals have greater deposits of fat, had lighter complexions, and were stockier than their sapiens counterparts

Culture
Not much is known about the culture of the sardinensis communities that once inhabited the Mediterranean. Much of their material culture has been lost to time, and it can be hard to distinguish their legacy from that of other contemporary humans in the area. It is known that sardinensis utilized varieties of plants and domesticated animals. The manufacture and use of stone tools was widespread, and primitive watercraft were used to engage in fishing, which provided much of their diet. Sardinensis did not develop any sophisticated methods of wayfaring or voyaging, however, and tended to stay isolated to only a few islands, namely Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and the Balearic Islands. A small presence has also been found in Catalonia.

Religion
Religious life appears to have been very important to sardinensis. Various primitive faiths were adopted as they encountered new people. Idii sites of worship have been found in or near the remains of sardinensis villages, as well as indications of a fertility cult found amongst the Sicilian population.

Extinction
Differing theories exist as to the sudden disappearance of the sardinensis as a distinct subspecies. Many anthropologists hypothesize that a period of isolation and stagnation between 100,000 BCE and 90,000 BCE ultimately led to their collapse and extinction. around 90,000 BCE, improvements in primitive boat-building would open the Mediterranean to Homo sapiens, who would come to dominate the region for the next several millennia. The prevailing theory, evidenced by genetic data from modern H. sapiens populations, indicates that many sardinensis interbred with the new populations of sapiens, leading to their re-absorption into the parent species.