text: neanderthal extinction, any link to dog domestication?   none known, at this point.  there is some question as to whether homo neandertalis went extinct, or interbred with homo erectus or homo sapiens.  i've met a number of people whose skulls show the pronounced orbital ridges and strong jawline of h. neandertalis--which lends credence to the interbreeding idea--but the limited dna evidence speaks more for extinction.