Neanderthal's Brain Summary

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

Archeologists have discovered what is believed to be evidence of Neanderthal man's belief in life after death. They found the remains of several Neanderthals buried with such items as

Neanderthals were a species of archaic humans who migrated out of Africa and into Europe and Asia. However, around 40,000 years ago the large populations of Neanderthals died off and became extinct. The mysterious circumstances that surrounded their extinction drove various research teams to undertake the task of excavating numerous Neanderthal sites to collect fossilized bones, and artifacts in order to learn more about this group of ancestral humans. Over the past years, major technological advances have allowed researches to analyze the fossilized remains of the Neanderthals which led to major discoveries. For example, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology found that the ear ossicles of Neanderthals and modern humans had similar functions but differed in terms of structure. In the study, the researchers used high-resolution computer tomography (CT) to scan numerous Neanderthal skulls from different sites in order to determine if there are ossicles present in the middle ear cavity (tympanic membrane). The scans revealed ossicles in fourteen different skulls which came as a surprise to the researchers since the bones of the ossicles are fragile and break down easily in the soil. The researchers then used microcomputed tomography scans and 3D geometric morphometrics in order to virtually reconstruct the bones of the ossicles which are composed of the malleus, incus and stapes. The 3D reconstructions of the ossicles allowed the scientists to

Common portrayals of Neanderthals to the public often include images that depict them as your typical cavemen, with clubs for weapons and animal fur for clothes, and faces that resemble chimpanzees. The stereotype that cavemen are devoid of common knowledge is often paired up with these group of people; however, a study published this August by a team of archaeologists suggest that the ability to procure tar and use it as a primitive form of adhesive to make complex tools, proves their cleverness and resourcefulness that is often overlooked. In The New York Times, the article summarizes the study’s findings by demonstrating several methods the Neanderthals could have used to make tar. In general, the team of archaeologists tested out a few

Contemporary Europeans have roughly three times more Neanderthal variable in their genes involved in lipid catabolism than Asian and African people. Even though Neanderthals are extinct, small pieces of their genomes tend to exist in modern humans. These similarities are unevenly distributed across the genome and some regions are particularly enriched with Neanderthal variants. While analyzing the influence of Neanderthal variants on lipid processing in modern humans, the researchers found revolutionary changes in lipid concentration and expression of metabolic enzymes in brains of humans of European

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.

This evidence comes from comparisons done of anatomically modern humans in areas such as Europe and Africa. The appearance of anatomically modern humans is associated with an increase in neurological capacity, and this increase in complex thinking can be seen through material resources collected in sites that date to the first appearance of anatomically modern humans. Material resources were collected in Europe that date to a time period known to most archaeologists and anthropologists as the Upper Paleolithic Revolution. This occurred roughly 40,000 years ago and shows a major expansion in various aspects of human life such as technology and

       In the article, "Brain ontogeny and life history in Homo erectus" by Steven R. Leigh discussed Homo erectus provided meaningful insights about the evolution of human ontogeny, life history, as well as cognition. The similarity between hominins is determined by testing three hypotheses (Leigh 105). With that being said, Mojokerto's absolute brain size is expected to be 0.5 - 1.5 year old H. sapiens (Leigh 105). The cranial

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

Decoding Neanderthals is an analysis of the Neanderthal genome shows that modern humans and Neanderthals had interbred some 60,000 years ago. It all started with our ancestors making their way from Africa to Europe. The ones who were in Africa evolved into humans and the ones who went to Europe developed into Neanderthals. They were also known as “Cavemen”. People saw them as some type of weird specie but the more you learn about them the more you start to realize that they are a lot like us humans.

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

After watching the films on neanderthals I have learned many new things about them. Neanderthals and humans are similar in many ways. In fact, “What Killed Off The Neanderthals,” film stated that “1 to 2 percent of humans have DNA from neanderthals.

The developmental differences that do exist between Neanderthals and H. sapiens may have a distant evolutionary beginning. An analysis of some 17 skulls dated to 430,000 years ago discovered at the fossil site of Sima de los Huesos, in the Atapuerca Mountains in northern Spain, has shown that members of the population, believed to have been Neanderthal ancestors, had smaller brains than later members of the lineage. The discovery suggests that Neanderthals did not inherit their large brain size from the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans; instead the two species experienced a comparable brain expansion later in their development. Although Neanderthal brains became approximately as large as those of H. sapiens, this independent

Thesis: This wild-haired Neanderthal has been traced back to our roots, animal like in nature, somewhere between the apes and civilization, blueprints of the modern human, through evolution we have now turned caveman into art.

Upon investigating the bones Schmerling did not recognize them as a distinct species (Sawyer et al. 2007).The first true Neanderthal was discovered in the Neander Valley, near Dusseldorf in 1856 by a group of miners who were blasting out a cave in the area. When the crew uncovered archaic bones they contacted a local schoolteacher, Johann Karl Fuhlrott. Fuhlrott was the first to recognize the fossils as a new species. In 1864, William King in the Quarterly Journal of Science identified this new species as Homo neanderthalensis after the location of its unearthing (Sawyer et al. 2007).