Blogsia

Homo neanderthalensis (250,000 to 30,000 years ago)

Species Description:

Like H. erectus, H. neanderthalensis had aprotruding jaw, receding forehead, and weak chin. The average Neanderthal brainwas slightly larger than that of modern humans, but this is probably correlatedwith larger body size in general. The mid-facial area of Neanderthals protrudedmuch more than the same area in H. erectus or H. sapiens and mayhave been an adaptation to cold. Indeed, Neanderthals lived mostly in coldclimates.

Their short, stocky bodies are similar in proportion to those ofmodern cold-adapted peoples; men averaged about 5 feet 6 inches tall. Neanderthalbones are thick and heavy and show signs of powerful muscle attachments.Neanderthals most likely would have been extraordinarily strong by modernstandards, and their skeletons show that they endured brutally hard lives. Theyare found throughout Europe and the Middle East. Western European Neanderthalsusually have a more robust form, and are considered "classic Neanderthals."

Some scientists consider Homo neanderthalensis to be asubspecies of Homo sapiens, rather than a species unto itself. The essaybelow briefly explores this idea.

The Neanderthal Within:

For about 70,000 years, Neanderthals roamed Earth withmodern Homo sapiens. Fossil evidence from the Middle East suggeststhat our ancestors not only lived at the same time as Neanderthals, butprobably lived alongside them in some areas. So why are there no Neanderthalswalking Earth today? Or are there?

For decades, the overwhelming scientific consensus has heldthat sometime between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens leftAfrica in search of more space and new habitats to exploit. En route, theyinevitably met up with the Neanderthals occupying the Middle East and southernEurope. This "out of Africa" hypothesis, as it has come to be known, says thatNeanderthals were no match for the better-adapted, quicker-witted Homosapiens. They were out-competed, pushed out of their habitats, and ultimatelydriven to extinction by a superior species -- ours. End of story. The explanationis simple, plausible, and accepted by most scientists. But is it correct?

Newly discovered evidence suggests another possibility,lending some credibility to a hypothesis that has languished in relative obscurityfor as long as "out of Africa" has reigned. The "multiregional" hypothesis is themessy alternative. It says that pockets of Homo sapiens left Africa notin one large, unstoppable wave, but in smaller movements across many differentregions.

Such a scenario would likely have been easier for resident Neanderthalsto accommodate. The hypothesis goes further to suggest that Neanderthals didn'tactually go anywhere, but were instead subsumed into the various populationsof Homo sapiens. This scenario implies that Neanderthals were so closelyrelated to Homo sapiens -- a subspecies, in fact -- that they interbredand mixed gene pools with our own. Is this possible?

The evidence supporting multiregionalism comes from recentanatomical and genetic comparisons of fossilized Homo sapiens andNeanderthals with contemporary human specimens. One such study suggests thatmodern humans have even more in common genetically with ancient Neanderthalspecimens than we do with an equally old Homo sapiens specimen.

Skeptics maintain that the new data are far too sparse andunsubstantiated to overturn the preponderance of evidence supporting the "outof Africa" hypothesis. Indeed, because DNA breaks down over time, analyses ofbones as old as these must be interpreted with caution.

And so the controversy remains, and will until more evidenceshifts our understanding solidly in one direction or the other. For now, we canonly wonder if our instincts and urges are occasionally driven by a bit of diluteNeanderthal in our genes.

	Fossil Finds:
	Shanidar 1 Estimated age: 70,000 to 40,000 years Date of discovery: 1953 to 1960 Location: Shanidar Cave, Iraq This site has yielded nine Neanderthal skeletons.One of them, Shanidar 1, was partially blind, one-armed, and crippledwhen he died, suggesting that he was a member of a society that caredfor its elderly. Shanidar 4, another specimen found here, appears tohave been buried with offerings of flowers (although this interpretationhas been disputed).
		Spy 1 Estimated age: 60,000 years Date of discovery: 1886 Location: Belgium Discovered at the Grotto of Spy (pronounced "spee")d'Orneau in Belgium, this find consisted of two nearly complete skeletonsand partial crania. The crania show heavy brow ridges very different fromanatomically modern humans. Fossil analysis established that the individualswere very old when they died, largely discrediting the previously held ideathat the Neanderthal physique was a pathological condition.
		Old Man Estimated age: 50,000 years Date of discovery: 1908 Location: La-Chapelle-aux-Saints, France This individual, who was 30 to 40 years old when he died,had a healed broken rib, severe arthritis of the hip, lower neck, back, andshoulders, and had lost most of his molar teeth. This indicates that Neanderthalsmay have had a complex social system that included care for the elderly.
	Saint-Cesaire Neanderthal Estimated age: 35,000 years Date of discovery: 1979 Location: Saint-Cesaire, France This partial skull belonged to one of the most recentNeanderthals known. The find was particularly important because it includedsophisticated tools previously assumed to belong to the Cro-Magnon culture.
	Evidence of Culture:
	Mousterian stone tools (debated) Estimated age: 200,000 years Location: Europe and the Middle East Archaeologists have identified as many as 20 different toolsthat Neanderthals made using this technique. The tools served a range of purposes,from slicing meat and scraping hides to cutting wood.
	Burial of the dead Estimated age: 100,000 years Location: Europe and the Middle East Archaeologists have discovered numerous Neanderthal skeletonsapparently buried deliberately in caves. The placement of these specimens andartifacts indicates some form of ritualized burial.

-> Go to Homo sapiens

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sa7SZ6arn1%2BstKO0jp6tqKSlqbawuo6hrKaZnqh8qcHMmqWkoZ6ZfK96x62kpQ%3D%3D