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relationship between neanderthals and anatomically modern humans
relationship between neanderthals and anatomically modern humans
relationship between neanderthals and anatomically modern humans
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Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens once coexisted for a period of time in the distant past during the late Pleistocene era (Benazzi et al. 2011), so there is speculation that they may have shared various similarities. Whether they occupied the same niche, or used and created tools that resembled equivalent shape and form, or whether both species lived in groups that paralleled in hierarchy and social behaviors are questions that many researchers have been trying to answer (Wynn and Coolidge 2008). At the same time, there have been discoveries that allow us to recognize the distinctions that set Neanderthals and Homo sapiens apart.
During the Pleistocene era, which began around 1.8 million years ago, the continents had shifted to the locations that they are in today (Zimmerman 2009). According to Polly (www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/), the Pleistocene was discovered to be comprised of biomes that were similar to the ones that are identified today. Various forms of flora and fauna began to arise in this era as well, such as pines, mosses, flowering plants, insects, birds and mammals. Further into the Upper Pleistocene, it is theorized that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens originated in Africa and diverged around 450,000 – 485,000 years ago (Ovchinnikov 2010).
It is suggested that Neanderthals traveled to areas in Europe, India, and Asia from parts of Africa. This detached hominid group diverged into Neanderthal man over thousands of years while residing in the northwest India-Afghanistan region (Weckler 1954). Homo neanderthalensis dispersed much earlier than our own species had, which continued to occupy Africa for quite some time and eventually became confined to this region because of barriers such as massive lakes and highly elevate...
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Over the last few hundred years, more and more has been added to the world’s fossil collection, fossils from all over the world. New theories have been created and old theories have almost been proven about the evolution of man. For example, we have proof that different species of man existed with certain types of DNA sequences and instincts, some we may not have anymore, or some that other species did not have back then. Even though it is subjected to much debate, one of the most widely accepted theories however, is that Homo sapiens interbred with the slightly more primitive species of man, the Neanderthal.
Around 1.8 million years ago, two hominids were born, first the Homo Erectus and then the Neanderthals. Although the two very different humans. However, were they that different? Our ancestors were very versatile hominids. They lived in various places and lived in a variety of ways. The Homo Erectus and Neanderthals were all special in their ways. They had similarities and differences that set them apart. They had similarities, but in the same way, their differences helped them survive if they had not adapted to how they lived they would have lasted the same time that their ancestors have lived. The Neanderthals lived for an average lifespan 30 years. They had to have some mistake that decreased their lifespan because if the Homo Erectus had done the same, there’s a chance that we might not be here now. Their differences set the future that we live in today. These
Allen, John S., and Susan C. Anton. "Chapter 13 The Emergence, Dispersal, and Bioarchaeology of H. sapiens." Pearson Custom Anthropology. By Craig Stanford. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013. 200+. Print.
The human archaeological record is a long and undefined story that may be the most complex question researched today. One of the big questions in human history is the disappearance of the Neanderthal people from the archaeological record around 30,000 BP. While for thousands of years Neanderthals and Anatomically modern humans crossed paths and perhaps lived in close relations, we have yet to really understand the degree to which they lived together. My hypothesis is that these two hominids, Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans, interbred exchanging genes after Modern Humans dispersed from Africa and creating like cultures and material remains. The differences between Neanderthal and Modern humans are not only physical but also genetically evolved and this research will determine an estimated amount of admixture between the two groups.
Even though Neanderthals had some physiological differences between humans, there are proves to say that Neanderthals had some characteristics that related them to humans, and they were really intelligent like
The Neanderthal fossil was first discovered in 1829 but it was not until 1856 that conclusions were made. Originally they were not categorized as possible human ancestors until further discoveries of fossils were discovered in the mid-19th century. The taxonomy of the Neanderthals has been highly debated between homo neanderthalensis or homo sapiens because of their close physical similarities with humans, eventually they were ruled as a subspecies of homo sapiens. The similarities between Neanderthals and homo sapiens was traced back by DNA from 350,000 to 500,000 years ago identifying a common ancestor between the two taxonomies.
Neanderthals lived in Europe and Western Asia between 200,000 and 30,000 years ago. Fossil record shows that around 150,000 years ago (Bar-Yosef, 1998; Grün & Stringer, 2000) their range extended from Europe to Middle East and Asia spreading to Uzbekistan and Russia (Herrera et al., 2009). They were probably the only hominin group living in Europe and Western Asia for a long period of time until the arrival of modern humans. Their extinction is dated at around 30,000 ye...
About a million years ago, early humans spread out of Africa into Asia and Europe. These tools remind us that human technology, culture and the species itself all began in Africa.
In recent years, the Homo Neanderthalensis were viewed as “subhuman brutes”, but are now seen as a different species from our own (Balter 2001). The Neanderthals were a branch of the Homo genus that evolved in Eurasia at least 200,000 years ago (Fagan 2010). The first Neand...
Wilford, John Noble. "Homo Naledi, New Species in Human Lineage, Is Found in South African Cave." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
The Neanderthals are an extinct species of human that lived in ice age Europe between 120,000-35,000 years ago. This species is known for their receding forehead and prominent brow ridges. We know this species as the uncivilized or unintelligent person or group. Neanderthals are often portrayed as “unintelligent cavemen in animal-skin clothing.” Scientists’ first thought the Neanderthals’ were subhuman, but that thought is beginning to change. The original name given to the Neanderthals when they were first discovered was ‘Homo Neanderthalensis’ and they were considered to be an ancestor to modern humans. “Forty-four years after this biased classification, Neanderthals were reclassified as a human subspecies Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis and
My own opinion on this issue is that from the evidence at hand, there is no way to know for sure whether or not the Neanderthals were our species. From the skeletal evidence, it is clear that they were anatomically different from modern humans, and we know that this is because of geographic isolation. We also know that they have been found in the same locations, and it appears at the same time. If they were truly part of our species, then there would have been blending of the two types in these places. Trying to determine this from fossilized bones from a tiny percent of the population, limited DNA, and imperfect dating methods is impossible. Even if anthropologists think they are sure of either viewpoint, there may be evidence out there that will prove them wrong. So at this point in time, I think both scenarios are equally possible.
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.
The origin of modern humans is a matter of debate. There are two different theories regarding the origin of modern humans or Homo sapiens. The first and primary theory states modern humans emerged in one place and from a single origin. This theory is known as the Recent African Origin Model. It suggests that modern humans are the product of speciation during the late Pleistocene in Africa. Homo sapiens eventually migrated out of Africa to Eurasia, and replaced all other human populations, without interbreeding. Some of the replaced populations are believe to be the Neanderthals and the Homo erectus. The second theory proposes that modern human evolution happened trough emigration, this is known as the multiregional evolution model. This model assumes that modern humans have an ancient rather than a recent African origin. This theory also talks about how all living humans derive from the species Homo erectus that left Africa nearly two million-years-ago. The multiregional view states that genes from all human populations of the Old World flowed among diverse areas and by coexisting, contributed to how modern humans look like nowadays. In order to understand the rise of modern human, it is important to first learn about the Neanderthals, group who existed and coexisted during the modern human evolution times. The Neanderthals are classified as an extinct subspecies of modern humans known as Homo sapiens Neanderthals, or as a separate human species called the Homo neanderthalensis. Both, the modern human and Neanderthal share some features and differ in others
Throughout history, humans have asked many questions in regards to our own beginnings. Religion and science have examined what makes us who we are, and have tried to answer the enduring question of our own modern origins. Scientifically, theories are still debated as to when, where, and how modern Homo sapiens came to be what they are today. There are two major theories that now dominate the discussions of experts in the field of biological anthropology: the “Out-of-Africa” model and the “Multiregional” model of evolution. Stringer and Andrews argue that genetic and paleontological evidence supports a more recent Out-of-Africa model as opposed to a more drawn out Multiregional method that also incorporates gene flow (1263). In contrast, Wolpoff, Hawks, and Caspari claim that the Multiregional model is misunderstood, and clearing up discrepancies could bolster support for this theory instead (129). Pearson notes that while people like Wolpoff et al defend the Multiregional model, archaeological evidence seems to show that likely no intermixture between modern Homo sapiens and other archaic hominins happened during the spread of early Homo sapiens out of Africa (145). It is easy to see that the debate lingers onwards with an end not clearly in sight. This paper will further examine the arguments asserted by these authors and identify their core arguments, the data they use to support their arguments and determine which paper is the most convincing of the three.