Who was Neanderthal?

The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of Western and Central Asia. Neanderthals are classified either as a subspecies (or race) of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or as a separate human species (Homo neanderthalensis). The first proto-Neanderthal traits appeared in Europe as early as 600,000-350,000 years ago. Proto-Neanderthal traits are occasionally grouped with another phenetic 'species,'Homo heidelbergensis, or a migrant form, Homo rhodesiensis.

Neanderthal skulls were first discovered in Engis, in what is now Belgium (1829) by Philippe-Charles Schmerling and in Forbes' Quarry, Gibraltar (1848). Another specimen was discovered in a limestone quarry of the Neander Valley in Erkrath near Düsseldorf, Germany, in August 1856—three years before Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published. The type specimen, dubbed Neanderthal 1, consisted of a skull cap, two femora, three bones from the right arm, two from the left arm, part of the left ilium, fragments of a scapula, and ribs.

Early Neanderthals lived in the last glacial period for a span of about 100,000 years. Because the damaging effects the glacial period had on the Neanderthal sites, not much is known about the early species. Remains are known in most European countries south of the line of glaciation, roughly along the 50th parallel north, including most of Western Europe, the south coast of Great Britain, Central Europe and the Balkans, the Ukraine, western Russia, and outside of Europe in the Zagros Mountains and in the Levant.

 

Neanderthal Cranial Capacity

Neanderthal cranial capacity is thought to have been as large as that of a Homo sapiens, perhaps larger, indicating their brain size may have been comparable, as well. On average, the height of Neanderthals was comparable to contemporaneous Homo sapiens. Neanderthal males stood about 165-168 cm (65-66 inches), and were heavily built with robust bone structure. They were much stronger than Homo sapiens, having particularly strong arms and hands. Females stood about 152-156 cm (60-61 inches) tall.

Neanderthals are thought to have used tools of the Mousterian class, which were often produced using soft hammer percussion—hammers made of materials like bones, antlers, and wood—rather than hard hammer percussion, which used stone hammers. A result of this is that their bone industry was relatively simple. There is good evidence, however, that they routinely constructed a variety of stone implements. Neanderthal tools most often consisted of sophisticated stone-flakes, task-specific hand axes, and spears. Many of these tools were very sharp. There is also good evidence that they used a lot of wood, but wooden objects rarely survive to the present.

 

Neanderthal Culture

Although much has been made of the Neanderthals' burial of their dead, their burials were less elaborate than those of anatomically modern humans. In some cases, Neanderthal burials include grave goods, such as bison and aurochs bones, tools, and the pigment ochre. Neanderthals also performed many sophisticated tasks normally associated only with modern humans. For example, they controlled fire, constructed complex shelters, and skinned animals. A trap excavated at La Cotte de St. Brelade in Jersey gives testament to their intelligence and success as hunters.

 

Neanderthal and DNA Studies

Various theories of Neanderthal admixture in modern human DNA—the result of interbreeding of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans during the Middle Paleolithic—have been debated throughout the 20th century, using genetic research throughout the 2000s. Early theories suggested that Neanderthals were early ancestors of H. erectus, which then evolved into today's H. sapiens. In 2006, however, it became possible to sequence DNA from Neanderthal remains, allowing molecular evidence to show that this was not the case. The results show that Neanderthals interbred with anatomically modern humans.

A draft sequence publication by the Neanderthal Genome Project in May 2010 indicates that Neanderthals share more genetic lineages with non-African populations than with African populations. According to the study, this scenario is best explained by gene flow from Neanderthals to modern humans after humans emerged from Africa. An estimated 1 to 4 percent of the DNA in Europeans and Asians (i.e., French, Chinese and Papua probands) is nonmodern, and shared with ancient Neanderthal DNA rather than with sub-Saharan Africans (i.e., Yoruba and San probands). Though less parsimonious than gene flow, ancient substructure in Africa could account for the higher levels of Neanderthal lineages detected in Eurasians.

Homo sapiens (Humans) are primates of the family Hominidae, and the only extant species of the genus Homo. They originated in Africa, where they reached anatomical modernity about 200,000 years ago, then began to exhibit full behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago. The human lineage diverged from the last common ancestor with its closest living relative, the chimpanzee, some five million years ago, evolving into the Australopithecines and eventually the genus Homo. The first Homo species to move out of Africa was Homo erectus, the African variety of which, together with Homo heidelbergensis, is considered the immediate ancestor of modern humans. Homo sapiens proceeded to colonize the continents; arriving in Eurasia 125,000-60,000 years ago; Australia around 40,000 years ago; the Americas around 15,000 years ago; and remote islands such as Hawaii, Easter Island, Madagascar, and New Zealand between the years AD 300 and 1280. As early as 12,000 years ago, humans began to practice sedentary agriculture, domesticating plants and animals which allowed for the growth of civilization.

 

Brain Size

Humans are characterized by having a large brain relative to body size, with a particularly well developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes; these facilitate abstract reasoning, language, introspection, problem solving, and culture through social learning. This mental capability, combined with an adaptation to bipedal locomotion that frees the hands for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to utilize tools far better than any other living species on Earth.

 

 Body Type Variations

Human body types vary substantially. Although body size is determined largely by genes, it is also significantly influenced by environmental factors such as diet and exercise. The average height of an adult human is 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) to 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in), although this varies significantly from region to region and depending on ethnic origin. The average mass of an adult human is 54-64 kg (120-140 lbs) for females and 76-83 kg (168-183 lbs) for males. Weight can also vary greatly (e.g., obesity). Although humans appear hairless compared to other primates, with notable hair growth occurring chiefly on the top of the head, underarms and pubic area, the average human has more hair follicles on his or her body than the average chimpanzee. The main distinction is that human hairs are shorter, finer, and less heavily pigmented than that of the average chimpanzee, making humans harder to see. Humans, like other primates, have sweat glands, better enabling them to conserve energy in tropical environments.

 

Genome

Like all mammals humans are a diploid eukaryotic species. Each somatic cell has two sets of 23 chromosomes, each set received from one parent; gametes have only one set of chromosomes (a mixture of the two parental sets). Among the 23 chromosomes there are 22 pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes. Like other mammals, humans have an XY sex-determination system, so that females have the sex chromosomes XX and males have XY. By comparing mitochondrial DNA that is inheritedonly from the mother, geneticists have concluded that the last female common ancestor whose genetic marker is found in all modern humans, the so-called mitochondrial Eve, must have lived around 200,000 years ago. The forces of natural selection have continued to influence human populations, with evidence that certain regions of the genome displayed directional selection within the past 15,000 years. Most current genetic and archaeological evidence supports a recent single origin of modern humans in East Africa, with first migrations placed at 60,000 years ago. Current genetic studies demonstrate that humans on the African continent are the most genetically diverse. However, compared to the other great apes, human gene sequences are remarkably homogeneous.