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How Neanderthals met their demise remains a long standing mystery for historians.

One theory is that early modern humans 'bullied' their Neanderthal cousins to the point of extinction because they had better tools to survive.

But a new study of ancient stone tools contradicts this theory by suggesting human weapons were no better than those created by Neanderthals.

The researchers studied stone tools that were used by people in the Early Ahmarian culture and the Protoaurignacian culture, living in south and west Europe and west Asia around 40,000 years ago. They found the human tools (pictured) were no more effective than Neanderthal-created tools of the same era

Researchers say the discovery means we may need to rethink the reasons humans survived Neanderthals - and that we may not have behaved as differently as we thought.

Traditionally, scientists believed that innovation in weapons enabled humans to spread out of Africa to Europe.

But the new study by Nagoya University and the University of Tokyo in Japan argues that the humans were no better equipped than the Neanderthals.

'We're not so special, I don't think we survived Neanderthals simply because of technological competence,' said Dr Seiji Kadowaki, first author of the study from Nagoya University, Japan.

On the left is a map of the Levant showing the locations of the Early Ahmarian-related sites analysed in this study. Neanderthals (reconstruction right) may not have been as dim-witted as first believe, claims the study

The Early Ahmarian culture used small stone points as tips for hunting weapons like throwing spears. Researchers previously considered these to be an important innovation - one that helped the humans migrate from west Asia to Europe, where Neanderthals were living

Early modern humans expanded the geographic area they inhabited out of Africa during a period of time 55,000-40,000 years ago.

The researchers studied stone tools that were used by people in the Early Ahmarian culture and the Protoaurignacian culture, living in south and west Europe and west Asia around 40,000 years ago.

They used small stone points as tips for hunting weapons like throwing spears.

Researchers previously considered these to be an important innovation - one that helped the humans migrate from west Asia to Europe, where Neanderthals were living.

However, the new research reveals a timeline that doesn't support this theory.

If the innovation had led to the migration, evidence would show the stone points moving in the same direction as the humans.

But the study showed the possibility that the stone points appeared in Europe 3,000 years earlier than in the Levant, a historical area in west Asia.

'We looked at the basic timeline revealed by similar stone points, and it shows that humans were using them in Europe before they appeared in the Levant - the opposite of what we'd expect if the innovation had led to the humans' migration from Africa to Europe,' said Dr Kadowaki.

'Our new findings mean that the research community now needs to reconsider the assumption that our ancestors moved to Europe and succeeded where Neanderthals failed because of cultural and technological innovations brought from Africa or west Asia.'

They believe the timings imply several new scenarios about the migration of modern humans into Europe.

For example, they are likely to have migrated to Europe much earlier, and developed the tools there.

'We're very excited about our new model. We think the causes of human evolution are more complicated than just being about technology.

'Now that we've re-examined the traditional model about the northern migration route to Europe, we are planning to re-evaluate the model on the southern migration route - from East Africa to South Asia' said Dr Kadowaki.