Annotated Bibliography Of Homo Naledi

The infamous event of the Piltdown hoax is one that continues to draw speculative attention over a century after the initial announcement of the paleoanthropological findings. Although many scientists, especially those involved in the field of paleoanthropology, would like to forget the incident entirely, the Piltdown man—taxonomically referred to as Eoanthropus dawsoni—is perhaps the greatest hoax in anthropological history. By 1912, British archaeologists and paleontologists were desperate for a significant paleoanthropological finding that would provide the missing link between humans and apes in hominin evolution (Prosser, 2009). The Piltdown man was originally a famous finding that straddled the human-animal boundary, dichotomously

Traditionally, Neanderthals have been viewed as large, hulking ape like beings that survived by aggression and power through the harshest conditions possible on earth. They have been painted as unsophisticated and unable to compete with humans on an intellectual level. These academics theorized that superior human intellect and reasoning gave humans the advantage in hunting game and securing the most valuable natural resource, eventually driving the Homo neanderthalensis to extinction 30,000 years ago. Popular culture describes Neanderthals as first viewed by science as large, hulking ape like beings. However, new evidence suggests that one of the first reconstructed Neanderthal skeletons did not consider that the individual suffered from acute arthritis. Despite unique, this Neanderthal ‘s hunching posture was associated with the entire species, giving one the impression of a “brutish caveman”. This new understanding has reformed research on the Neanderthal and a new understanding of humanity’s earliest ancestor

In the Article “Redrawing Humanity’s Family Tree” by John Noble Wilford, describes how two different skulls challenge the theories of human origins and migrations. The Central African skull, that dates back to nearly 7 million years ago, was assigned to a whole new genus and species because of its apelike and evolved hominid species. The 1.75-million-year-old Georgian skull shows evidence that the first hominids may have been intercontinental travelers who set motion the migrations that occupied the whole planet. Finally a third skull was found that is the same age and shares a resemblance but, the size of the skull suggests that the brain was smaller than expected for H. erectus.

Discoveries relating to the human lineage are extremely exciting and often baffling. This is the case with the recent discovery of what seems to be the oldest member of the human family. A skull found in northern Chad in 2001, has been deemed the earliest relative to the human ever found. Nicknamed Toumai, and discovered by Michel Brunet and his paleontology team, this new category of human has been given the scientific name, Sahelanthropus tchaensis. What makes this skull so definitive is the fact that it dates back approximately 6-7 million years in the earth’s history (Whitfield 2002). Since the discovery there have been anthropologists and paleontologists that have

Neanderthals and modern humans coexisted for well over 100,000 years.  Then suddenly Homo neandertalensis began to die out and surrender the earth to Homo sapiens.  Paleontologists and anthropologists have entertained several possibilities to the causes of this event: interbreeding among Neanderthals and humans, competition for natural resources, and Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest.”  What the real cause has been has plagued scientists for years. Now, due to an international research team from Germany, those possibilities have been even further deduced, making it easier to pinpoint the exact reason Homo neandertalensis became extinct.

“Despite intense research efforts, no consensus has been reached about the genetic relationship between early modern humans and archaic human forms such as the Neanderthals” (Serre, 16 March 2004). It is a

For example, this past year a new study from the University of Sheffield, found that “human teeth evolved from the same genes that make the bizarre beaked teeth of the pufferfish” (Fraser, 2017). Another study found that a gene that helps humans to control eyes and ears is also in primitive creatures such as jellyfish. A study done in the Czech Republic confirmed this finding in a gene called pox 6 which is an “evolutionary conserved regulator of eye development”(Ruzickova et al., 2009) that both humans and primitive creatures share. Both of these studies are in complete correlation with Shubin’s findings. Over and over, Shubin’s findings fit with other research articles that back up his own studies and

If Neanderthals did in fact comport themselves in ways once thought to distinguish anatomically modern humans and enable the latter’s rise to world domination, that similarity makes the Neanderthals’ decline and eventual extinction all the more mystifying. One theory is that H. sapiens had a broader variety of tools that may have enhanced their ability to forage. When they brought their superior technology with them out of Africa and into Eurasia, they were thus better able to exploit the environment more effectively than the resident Neanderthals could. Still, the arrival of H. sapiens did not equal an instant demise for Neanderthals. The latest attempt to track their decline, carried out by Thomas Higham of Oxford and his colleagues, applied

Weighing the evidence: The Kennewick Man Controversy, in this article a Indian leader named Armand Minthorn assume, that a 9,300 year old skeleton found belongs to the tribe and should be given to them for a burial. On the other hand a scientist named Robson Bonnichsen assumes, that due to

In the film, Neanderthals on Trial, numerous questions are presented regarding where Neanderthals fit into our evolutionary history. Were they ancestors to modern humans or were they an evolutionary dead end? Are they physically similar enough to be considered humans? Did their level of intelligence match ours or was it inferior? The film provides information on the evidence found to support their assumptions about who the Neanderthals were. There is debate between those who believe Neanderthals were a different species and those who believe they are a subspecies of humans. Despite some anthropologists believing the Neanderthals are not a species of humans, there is evidence supporting that they are, through DNA analysis, as well as analysis of cranial features, stone tools, and behavior, as depicted in the film.

Discovering the origins and timeline of our species genetics is an essential component of our history. The majority of research into this topic has been relatively recent within the past many years. Scientists are consistently providing new findings and new information for this rising area of interest. Through widespread learning of this material can we collectively make sound judgements based on our own past.

During the early 19th century, scientists, archeologist and other scholars, speculated, studied and disagreed about the development of humans and our origins. Some experts theorized that humans are monogenism and developed into various varieties of species. Others argue that we

As a result Neanderthals and modern humans coexisted for thousand of years both in Europe and in Asia, sometimes populating the same caves at different times, before Neanderthal extinction. Even though the prehistoric population density of Neanderthals and humans were probably very low and potential encounters could have been quite rare (Shea, 2007), their concurrence raises question about the type of interaction that must have happened between the two different populations and the possibility of interbreeding (Shreeve, 1995).

In 1864 William King gave the name Homo neanderthalensis to a set of fossil remains found ten years earlier in the Feldhofer Cave of the Neander Valley in Germany. After King began his studies into Homo neanderthalensis he discovered that the fossil found in Germany were not the first. Unrecognized Neanderthal fossils were unearthed across Europe, as north as Belgium and as far south as Gibraltar. With a skull larger that humans Neanderthals survived the cold European lands by creating tools, mastering fire, building lodges, and hunting large animals. Neanderthals occupied Europe the same time as the first humans. Some evidence supporting the idea that humans and Neanderthals lived together and even interbreed. The Homo neanderthalensis

There is evidence to suggest that Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens had coexisted for approximately 35-40,000 years, (Fagan 2010) from around 60,000 years ago to 25,000 years ago when they finally went extinct (Gibbon 2001). Anthropologists are still uncertain what the cause of their extinction was. This paper will analyze three main theories of Neanderthal extinction. The first theory is the competition theory, which claims that the Homo sapiens and Neanderthals had to compete for resources, ultimately leading to their demise. The second theory I will discuss is the climate change theory, which claims that Homo sapiens lived while Neanderthals died because they were better adapted to the climate. The last theory I will discuss is