Neanderthal Research Paper

The first Neanderthal remains, discovered in Germany in 1856, were presented to the world of science at a meeting of the Lower Rhine Medical and Natural History Society held in Bonn in February 1857 and named a species, Homo neanderthalensis, by William King in 1864. Some Neanderthal fossils and other remains are in excellent condition, giving a good idea of Neanderthal culture. In 1887, two complete skeletons were found in a cave near Spy in Belgium, and more from sites in France in 1887, 1908 and 1911. These and other finds showed that the Neanderthals had populated Europe widely from about 130,000 to 28,000 years ago after which they became extinct. Most of these fossils were found in caves. Usually they are associated with cold

In a skeleton found in Asia, the discovery of a hyoid bone in the the throat raised the question of whether or not Neanderthals had language capabilities. There has been much debate over this and many different theories, but the most widely accepted is that they were capable of producing human speech sounds, but whether or not they used this speech to communicate in any kind of language is still largely up for debate. In height, Neanderthals were roughly about the same size as modern humans, but did not live as long as modern humans. A Neanderthal who lived into his or her 40's was considered to be long lived, which is comparatively short to our much longer lives of roughly double that. Genetically, Neaderthals and humans differ in their DNA structure both in the mitochondrial DNA and in the nuclear DNA. The significance of the DNA evidence is that it is crucial in determining whether remains that are found are truly Neanderthal or an older hominin relative.

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

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

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

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

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

They were found in Africa 600-200kya, Asia 200-130kya, and European 800-200kya. They had big cranial capacity. They were using Acheulean tools. They led to the development of Neanderthal, the closed ancestor of modern human. They occupied the continents from 130-30kya. There fossils were excavated in Neander Valley, Germany in 1856 by C. Fuhlrott. Their cranial and postcranial features were close to the modern human. They had thin cranial bone, which the capacity was about 1500cc; barrel-chested; and short distal limb segment. Neanderthal climate had changed significantly to cold weather. According to Bergmann’s and Allen’s rule, populations living in cold climates tend to have larger body (trunk) sizes and shorter extremities than those living in warm regions (“Human Biological Adaptability: Adapting to Climate Extremes”). Neanderthals developed Mousterian Tool Industry with greater variety of more standardized tool type. The high quality raw material was occasionally used. They used tools for cutting plant material, meat, scraping hides, and sharping tools. Sometimes, shaped bone was used as raw material. Those tools were stable over time and space. There are some new evidences that the Neanderthal had showed the artistic expression. At more than 39,000 years old, the etchings rival in age the oldest cave art in Europe — and they are the first to be unquestionably done by a Neanderthal (Rodríguez-Vidal, J. et

Additional interesting facts about Neanderthals include: They had the same gene associated with language that modern humans have, but the anatomy of their vocal chords would not allow them to make certain sounds. They found a way to make adhesive through a complex thermal process, where they extracted pitch from stones. Amongst the artifacts found from the Neanderthal time period there are bones which appear to have been made into instruments. They were the first in history to have buried their dead. It appears they may have even marked their graves and perhaps had burial rituals. Finally, it has been discovered that at least some of the Neanderthals had pale skin and red hair. Qualities that may have helped them to absorb vitamin D which in

An ancient human species, known as the Neanderthals, emerged into this world 300,000 to 100,000 years ago. The Neanderthals occupied Eurasia, from Europe to Central Asia. During this time, Europe was in an Ice Age, which means the Neanderthals had a difficult time surviving because of the harsh weather. Around 24,000 years ago, this species disappeared; this was around the time when the Homo sapiens arrived from their original home in Africa (Tuttle). Even though the modern humans showed up and started competing for food and land, the Neanderthals were skilled in a variety of areas. According to the journal Smithsonian, Neanderthals learned how to control fire for warmth and cooking, make clothing for the severe weather conditions, and become

This lecture connection made was made to the Article “Neanderthal were people, too “by Jon Mooallem. Introducing his story to the audience about Gorham’s cave and the knowledge behind his excavation to the caves. The article describes and reflects back to humanity in the change of old view and assumption. Describing the Neanderthals as peoples and their shared ancestry with us. The Neanderthals did similar belief as the human species being they buried their dead. They had faith and reason to their functions. Believed in ceremonial purpose relating how we humans also believe in faith and ceremonial purpose there is a reason. Through congruence, both centuries had knowledge from experience and practical understatement.

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

Several different hypotheses have been formulated to explain the extinction of Neanderthals, from climate changes to intoxication from cave-associated contaminants like smoke, from cannibalism to diseases (Herrera et al., 2009). It is only certain that Neanderthals disappeared from fossil record after the arrival of modern humans, around 40,000 years in Asia, and 10,000-15,000 years in Europe (Shreeve, 1995). Fossil evidence shows the presence of modern humans in Middle East from 130,000 to 75,000 years ago, in the same areas where Neanderthals retreated between 65,000 and 47,000 years ago (Mellars, 2004).

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