The scientists called the site Cro-Magnon 1, a name which stuck with these early Homo sapiens until recent years. Cro-Magnons were early H. sapiens, and their survival was no easy matter.

Two of these extinct beings—Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon people—are pretty close to us, evolutionarily speaking. But they’re not the same species. Here’s how to tell the difference.

Not until the late 19th century did humans learn of the extraordinary art produced by their Ice Age ancestors, the Cro-Magnon people of Western Europe. These early artists decorated walls of caves ...