Evolution And Dispersal Of Modern People

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

For many years there has been a debate over where modern humans originated from. The first theory, out of Africa, discusses modern humans evolving in Africa. They migrated out to Eurasia and as the time went on their species evolved independently and developed into distinct species. All other human populations were eventually replaced with no interbreeding involved in the process and Homo sapiens had successfully dominated the rest of the world. On the other hand, the second theory, regional continuity, says that our earliest hominid ancestors had departed Africa and spread into other parts of the world later evolving into modern human beings. In this paper I will discuss the Regional continuity theory and elaborating on the Out of Africa theory. Evidence based on fossils, artifacts, and other crucial components will be discussed. Based on the evidence found I will come to a conclusion as to which theory I think best fits the origins of humans.

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

It's widely agreed by scientists that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens (modern man) are different species. However, it's thought that 1.5 - 2.1% of DNA from anyone born outside of Africa is Neanderthal which means that they co-existed and interbred with our Homo sapien ancestors approximately 35,000 years ago. Researchers say, the only human ancestors who didn't interbreed with Neanderthals were sub-Saharan Africans. Neanderthals typically lived in Europe and Asia up until approximately 33,000 BC when they are said to have become extinct. They lived during the Ice Age and can be considered as early cave men who are likely to have been covered in hair and had an ape like appearance very similar to the conventional perception of Bigfoot. Their eyes and brains were larger than those of Homo sapiens but they were sophisticated enough to carry tools, make fire and bury their dead. One scientific explanation as to why the Neanderthals died out is climate change, More likely, they were unable to compete with the better adapted early humans who either killed them, took over their land or interbred with them and they were absorbed into our

The Neanderthals lived in areas ranging from Western Europe through central Asia from about 200,000 to between 36,000 and 24,000 years ago. The Neanderthals lived in groups of 30 to 50 individuals, they invented many of the tool types that were to be perfected by fully sapient peoples, they had weapons adequate to deal with both the cave lion and cave bear, they used body paint, buried their dead. Neanderthal Man survived through the Ice Age. They are thought to have had fire. Neanderthals lived side by side with modern humans for over 10,000 years.

“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

Cro-Magnons did not appear in Europe until about 40,000 years ago (Shreeve, 150). The Neanderthals seem to have been geographically separated from other humans for a long time, in a different environment. These factors gave the Neanderthals a chance to evolve separately, maybe enough to become a species (Shreeve, 156). Even when the two species met and coexisted for thousands of years, they continued to have very distinct morphological traits. If they were the same species, gene flow would have blurred the differences, but little evidence of this is found.

According to Diamond, Human ancestors moved to Eurasia around 1 to 2 million years ago and after human fossils began to resemble modern Homo sapiens and archaeologists called that period the Great Leap Forward. According to “Human Evolution and the Great Leap Forward - By Advocate De Waal Lubbe,” Scientists have estimated that humans branched off from their common ancestor, with chimpanzees, about 5-7 million years ago. Several species and subspecies of Homo evolved and are now extinct. These include Homo erectus, which inhabited Asia, and Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis, which inhabited Europe. Archaic Homo sapiens evolved between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago.

Neanderthals are the predecessor to anatomically modern humans. They were hunters, cared for their wounded and the dead, lived rough lives, and are considered to be a highly successful species (who). Living between 180-40 thousand years ago, Neanderthals were considered to be a part of the middle paleolithic era (when). Living in both Europe and southern Asia, Neanderthals never migrated into Africa (where). They co-existed with anatomically modern humans; however the time of coexistence is debatable. Unlike today’s humans, they had a significantly larger head, accounting for a significantly larger brain (what). However, they were equipped with a much smaller frontal lobe, which means they had less capacity and ability for forethought. They

As recently as only five years ago, anthropology researchers found that humans and Neanderthals had interbred at some point in time simply based on the shapes of skulls found in caves buried beneath thousands of years of soil. This mirrors a 2010 study that has uncovered the first proven

Superficially, anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals have much in common. Current data suggest Neanderthals had language, religion, and shared select genes with Homo-sapiens. The standing question is whether or not these similarities are a product of gene flow. This paper will be an extensive overview of the most substantial evidence that proves or disproves any genetic and anatomical relationships between anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals.

Neanderthal the most recent archaic human, who was introduced to this world between 300,00 and 100,000 years ago then after many years were replaced by humans between 35,000 and 24,000 years ago. Neanderthals inhabited Eurasia from the Atlantic regions of Europe eastward to Central Asia and from as far north as present-day Belgium southward to the Mediterranean and southwest Asia.” (www.britannica.com). Human populations that were very similar to Neanderthals lived in eastern Asia and Africa. Neanderthals lived in these locations because they had many limestone caves where they lived; limestone caves also preserve bones very well. “The name Neanderthal (or Neandertal) derives from the Neander Valley near

In the past few years, advancements in biotechnology and a growing collection of hominid bone remnants have allowed paleoanthropologists to gain insight into how populations of different archaic hominid species interacted. In particular, sequencing of the Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) genome has provided evidence that the evolution of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) was influenced by interbreeding and gene flow between the two species of Homo. By comparing Neanderthal and modern human DNA, researchers have been able to produce evidence that would support the notion that not only was interbreeding possible, but also that it likely happened and produced a selective advantage.

There was a question leaved me confused at times. Where did I come from? Where did human come from? I heard many religious stories about the origin of human. However, those legends cannot solve my doubts. After I took this anthropology class, I got my answer. Modern humans evolved in Africa. Moreover, I learned that our bodies also contain small percent Neandertal DNA. What was the Neandertal? Neandertal, the scientific name of which is Homo Neandertalensis, existed roughly between 200,000 and 30,000 years ago. They lived in Europe eastward to Central Asia. In fact, in the past, scientists always thought that Neandertals were more likely brutal and stupid apes. However, Neandertals were smart like modern humans and owned their special

The first Neanderthal fossils found in Europe, a fragmented child’s cranium in Belgium in 1830, and an adult cranium in Gibraltar, were not immediately recognized as a divergent kind of human. Only in 1856 after a partial skeleton was found in a cave in the Neander Valley in Germany it became clear that these fossils belonged to an extinct human and our closest evolutionary relative (Hublin and Pääbo, 2006). Since then, questions about their relationship with modern humans have been fiercely debated between anthropologists. But what attracts most interest from scientists and popular media is the possibility of hybridization between Neanderthals and modern humans if, in other words, they were a genetically different specie or a