A Neanderthal Presence In Italy

Neanderthals were hunter-gatherers who moved across Europe with the advance and retreat of the Ice Age glaciers. Their total population probably never exceeded 100,000. From 180,000 to 130,000years ago large glaciers covered much of Europe and Neanderthal remains are scarce. After 130,000years ago, tool technology developed rapidly to become the classic Neanderthal technology called the

The political history of Italy is quite extensive. The Greeks were the first to settle in Italy and established colonies in the southern part of the country and in Sicily. There was not a sense of political reality as much as there was a civilization (Windows on Italy- History). While the Greeks controlled the south the Gauls, or Celtic people, ruled the north and the Po Valley. But the most important group to settle in Italy was the Etruscans. Because of their advanced civilization, the Etruscans were the only ones to establish political and cultural ideas before the Roman Empire (Windows on Italy- History). At the end of the Etruscans rule, Rome began a unification of Italy and established Latin to be the general language (Defusco).

First, 14th century Florence was governed by a guild regime. The Florentine commune was led by priors elected from upper guilds for two month terms. The short term limits and election from higher guilds meant every citizen of rank in Florence had a chance to hold office. Those worthy of being elected would have belonged to an upper guild and had the respect of peers. Also, public office was important for reputation and social standing. The desire for election was not limited to Florence but applied abroad as well, “Florentines yearned to go abroad as foreign rectors both because of need of added income and in the avid quest for honor and reputation.” The many communes of the Italian peninsula made repeated office holding possible for many citizens. Moreover, events such as the black plague starting in 1348 allowed more than just nobleman to become officials. The sudden change had, “temporarily reshuffled the deck of social rank and entitlements.” Men who had enough ambition and effort could become high standing members of Florence no matter their station at birth. The desire to be recognized by society at large would shape the lives of Pitti, Dati and Alfani.

1815 after the fall of Napoleon, the concert of Concert of Europe and the Congress of Vienna the conservative forces of Europe restored Italy back to its pre-napoleonic ways to make French invasion harder and to stop Italy's liberalist and nationalist movements. Austria was given direct control over Lombardy and Venetia and controlling some northern states indirectly. Many of these restored governments tried to stop the Italian unification. Ferdinand I ruled Naples and Sicily suppressing freedom of speech. In the Papal States used inquisition and torture to stop nationalism and liberalism.In 1820 a revolution in Spain triggered a revolt in Naples. Ferdinand I agreed to grant a series of laws but Metternich worried about the success of the

According to “Decoding Neanderthals’ they were consider primitive; without language and art or a high level of thinking. These species hunted by brute force with a simple stone tool. Also, that their intellect cannot be associated or compared with modern humans because their behavior was too way primitive. They began to disappear 40,000 years ago as modern humans came on the scene, stated by “Decoding Neanderthals” documentary movie. However, according to the genetic evidence shows a mysterious presence related with the modern humans genes. Neanderthal’s psychical features demonstrate some facts that these Homo species possessed intelligence. For example, big noses, bulky physiques-adaptation to cold, shorter than Homo sapiens, but bones were thicker, oblique forehead and heavy eyebrows. Also, often Neanderthal’s craniums are larger than modern humans. They had larger ankle joint, elbow joint and shorter forearm, broader ribcage and lower cranium. They were the most advanced group of primates, except modern humans. Neanderthals weren’t fewer intelligent than modern people; they had clothes and had some kind of language. Neanderthal living space showed complex use of the instrument, abstract thoughts and speech, burial of their dead and manufactured primitive art objects. Some stereotypes against these species are that they had limited stone tools and no art or personal ornaments; therefore they seemed less advanced than modern humans. Also, stereotyping their intelligence

The most recent ancestor to the modern human, Homo neanderthalensis existed between 300,000 and 35,000 years ago. Originating in Africa, ancestors of the early Neanderthals migrated northwards almost 800,000 years ago. These migrants colonized much of the Old World with the majority based in Europe and small groups scattered throughout the Middle East and Asia. Historically, the Neanderthals were among the most resiliant creatures to exist on Earth. As a population, they thrived during the European ice age 40,000 years ago. This ice age enveloped the majority of Northern and Central Europe and due to their physique were the Neanderthals were able to surive. Physcially, the Neanderthals were larger and more muscular than today’s human

The history of Sicily, the largest island of the Mediterranean Sea, has been shaped by many different populations, which have dominated its territory mainly because of its strategic geographical position. The first populations on the Sicilian territory, according to the official history, were the Sicani, the Sicels and the Elymians, considered as the native populations of Sicily. After them, many other populations of the Mediterranean basin, such as Egyptians, Phoenicians and Iberians, stayed in Sicily. About 750 BC, the Greeks began to live in Sicily, establishing many important settlements. The Hellenic culture was well accepted by the local population, and the island became part of Magna Graecia. Meanwhile, Sicily has been disputed between Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans in the Punic Wars, which saw the victory of Rome. Hence, Sicily became a Roman province, being controlled by a Roman consul and spreading Roman culture and Latin language through the population (Norwhich, 2007, ch.V)

The history of life on earth goes back to millions of years. Many species and creatures evolved and changed through time, leading up to what we know today as, modern man. One of the creatures most similar to modern man is the Neanderthals; they are sometimes referred to as “early modern humans.”

The sixteenth and seventeenth were the most important centuries for Europe. During this period, Europe saw rise of Scientific Revolution, skepticism and secularization. This era brought profound changes in the political realm of Europe. It was during this period strong centralized states entered world competition for wealth and power, accelerating the pace of world domination. Many major European powers colonized different parts of the world but struggled to maintain and extend it. During this period, many countries rose to power such as England. The rise of trade and industry made England prosperous. It was during this era England began their world domination by conquering large parts of Asia, America and Europe. While many countries rose to power, others were dwindling such as Italy, leading to division of the country. Italy was torn apart by invasions by France and Spain. Instead of uniting against foreign invaders, Italy split into two factions supporting either France or Spain. Consequently, this era also saw the rise of great philosophers and well-versed men such as Niccolo Machiavelli and John Locke. Though criticized, their influence can be seen even today after centuries of their noted works. Machiavelli and Locke shared many thoughts, but they views were different on idea of government. While Machiavelli suggested an Authoritarian government for success of the state, Locke

Each revolution was very much focused in a particular state or region. Rebels did not join together across the kingdoms. After Napoleon was defeated, the states were returned to their previous boundaries and the monarchs were restored. In 1820, Naples and Sicily had two separate revolutions even though they had been unified once again. Censorship and public funding cuts increasing, prompted rebels in

Italy was dealing with ideals of nationality and political dis-unification since the fall of Rome. The political fragmentation and the economic inequality of the north and south led to Emmanuel II and Benso to expand Emmanuel’s rule and unify Italy. Along with Giuseppe Mazzinni, who was a product of the revolution of 1848, was able to unify the nation. At the same time, Germany was also seeking unification via Austria or Prussia. Prussia was currently the economic powerhouse of the Rhineland Because of this, Prussia was able to take control of and create the North German Confederation. Civilians now had a country to look up to and connect to. Before, most countries had an incredibly diverse group of people living within it. Different ethnic groups, language, and traditions all contributed to people not being able to relate to their country as a whole and only feel pride for their smaller community. At this point, people have sought to seek their own nation that they can relate to and these movements increased throughout the years. “There is no doubt that the number of nationalistic movements increased considerably in Europe in the 1870s” (Hobsbawan 145), showing how the nationalist movement grew over the course of a few decades. Though these revolts did not always work out, they set a standard for rulers that they now had to respect and listen to their people. This also built pride within the nation to know that the people held some power. After the unifications, European nations felt as if their own country was by far the most superior and felt as if they should be the one to control most of the world. This nationalistic idea led to imperialism. Along with the lack of resources countries had for their ever-growing populations, European nations set for the “Scramble of

During the French Invasion of 1494, Italy was interfered by some monarchs around Europe. Most of these wealthy monarchs were had jealousy and hatred in their heart as a result of the consequence of unequal wealth that some monarchs had. Furthermore, Naples at that time period was still dominated by nobles and most nobles were losing their power one after the other since every noble wanted them to show they have the most power so they did whatever they had to do which led to some nobles losing their power.

Throughout the documentary “Decoding Neanderthals” there was a push of research to push the human view of Neanderthals. Over the year’s research showed that we coexisted with Neanderthals and out beat their species. Many believed that Neanderthals where like the stereotypical unintelligent and wild caveman. With new technology, enhanced research, and the exposing documentary “Decoding Neanderthals” pushed the boundaries of these past ideologies. Through this we have learned how intelligent, symbolic, and closely related this species is to homo-sapiens species. This research proved that the Neanderthal may have not became extent due to in ability to create weapons but, due to inter breading with humans

Some scientists believe (Duarte et al., 1999) that Neanderthals and modern humans not only interbreed in Europe but Neanderthals are the biological and cultural evolutionary transition between archaic and early modern

The Latins and peoples closely related to them are believed to be descended from Indo - European peoples who arrived in Italy during the late Bronze Age.