While the Neanderthals were still alive approximately 42,000 years ago, the Earth experienced an event where the magnetic field reversed. Not for the first or last time but the most notable and studied. This led to environmental and atmospheric conditions that coincided with the downfall of the Neanderthal and many gargantuan lifeforms that populated Australia.
Because it happened (approximately) 42k years ago and had such an impact, it ended up being named the "Adams Transitional Geomagnetic Event" after the sci-fi writer Douglas Adams who authored The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...thanks to the book stating that the number 42 was the answer to life, the universe and everything.
Oh yeah, and there's a kauri tree in New Zealand still living today that most likely lived through it.
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