neanderthals were the dominant human species in europe and much of asia for around 250,000 years before vanishing entirely 41,000 years ago .
scientists took ct scans of teeth found at riparo bombrini in western ligurian alps -lrb- left -rrb- and in 1992 , over whether the teeth and other artefacts found with them were neanderthal or homo sapien in origin .
radio carbon dating also showed that it was 40,000 years old .