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Essays on human evolution
Similarities between Neanderthals and modern humans
Essays on human evolution
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Decoding Neanderthals Neanderthals are an important element in the humans ' origin. According to the movie Decoding Neanderthals by PBS Nova, Neanderthals lived during the Ice Age in Europe, and their life was harsh and short. Scientists believe that Neanderthals lived during 300,000 years, but they started to disappear around 40,000 years ago when a new human species appeared. Some of the characters of the movie Decoding Neanderthals consider Neanderthals like moronic individuals. However, are all modern humans bright or intelligent? Is everyone capable of doing everything now? Of course not, many people do not use their intelligence to the maximum because many of them put a limit their brain power; thus, it is impossible to pluralize that …show more content…
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 …show more content…
In the movie Decoding Neanderthals, Svante Paabo talks about his laboratory 's investigations to identify what makes humans different from Neanderthals. However, Paabo and his colleagues found that Neanderthals and humans share the same Fox p2, an encoded gene related to the human characteristic of speech and language. Furthermore, Clark Spencer wrote in his book that there is a complete Neanderthal skeleton found in the Kebara Cave, Israel; consequently, Clark Spencer says that "Neanderthal were able to speak" (Larsen 325). According to Spencer, "Various muscles and ligaments attach it to the skull, mandible, tongue, larynx, and pharynx, collectively producing speech. The morphology of the Kebara Neanderthal 's hyoid is identical to that of a living human 's," then he adds," The Kebara people talked"(Larsen 326). With this proves, there is enough evidence to say that not only the modern humans can speak; the Neanderthal could do it
Chinese and Malaysian Homo Sapiens have very close features to the Neanderthal. The skull analysis of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens are usually considered more accurate if the entire skull is examined, rather than certain ...
Many people are intrigued by Kurt Vonnegut’s borderline sci-fi, anti-war book Slaughterhouse-Five, and how it has survived throughout the ages. Kurt Vonnegut is an innovative best selling, award winning author of many book such as; Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse-Five etc.The book Slaughterhouse-Five has no beginning, middle or end past the first chapter so it is very common for Billy Pilgrim to “time bounce” from his childhood, to the war, and to his elderly years and not all in that order. Billy Pilgrim is a man that did not have the greatest luck when it came to being a soldier.For instance “He was a scrawny, untrained private with scraps for a uniform such a creature could walk through war, oblivious yet unscathed, while so many others with more appropriate attire and provisions perish”(Sparknotes Editor). Mr. Vonnegut lived through some of the events portrayed in the book Slaughterhouse-Five such as the American air raid of Dresden, Germany. On February 13-14, 1945 nearly 135,000 Germans were killed from the tragic firebombing of the city of Dresden,Germany. In the book Billy claims to have lived this tragic event several times over. Mr. Vonnegut was a soldier of the 423rd Infantry Regiment, and 106 Infantry Division and earned a Purple Heart for his service after being injured at the Battle of The Bulge (Vonnegut.com). Many soldier in our day and age that fought in WWII and after have suffered from PTSD. An estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, with women (10.4%) twice as likely as men (5%) to develop PTSD. About 3.6 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 54 (5.2 mil...
I watched the movie Animal House; it gave me an interesting perspective on academic life in the 1960’s. The movie follows two friends Lawrence "Larry" Kroger and Kent Dorfman, as they try to gain acceptance from a fraternity at Faber College in 1962. The movie starts off with Larry and Kent going to a social event at one of the better fraternities on campus the Omegas. The Omegas are the snooty, uptight, rich fraternity. Larry and Kent are not like them and find themselves uncomfortable but try their best to fit in. They are made fun of and they leave disappointed without a bid. They head over the Delta Tau Chi House where Kent’s brother used to be a member making Kent a legacy. There they meet John "Bluto" Blutarsky, who seems to be a little crazy. Delta Tau Chi offers the boys a bid because they need the due money. We next are introduced to the main protagonist Dean Vernon Wormer. The dean dislikes the Delta’s and there party attitude. The Delta house is already on probation so the dean puts them on double secret probation. He enlists the president of t...
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.
The first morphological features that later would become typical of Neanderthals, the projecting middle part of the face and a depression at the back of the skull, have been observed in fossils found in Europe as old as 400,000 years (Stringer & Hublin, 1999). These fossils belonged to Homo heidelbergensis, which in one of the various evolutionary scenarios that ties Neanderthals and modern humans is considered the ancestor of both Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens (Hubmlin, 2009).
...and put them in a whole different category from other primates. Unlike other animals there intellect gives them the ability to create, learn and flourish as primates. Even though they are not as intelligent as humans, they have a very significant cognition that puts them closer to humans.
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...
Primates and their behavior are used by scientists to estimate the capacities of human ancestors. Since humans and numerous primate species employ vocalizations as their primary means of communication, the vocal aspect of primate behavior has been a principal focus of studies exploring the origins of human language. Studies indicate that in spite of important differences, primate vocalizations exhibit some key features that characterize human language. However, some critical aspects of human speech, such as vocal plasticity, are missing in primate language (Fedurek and
Most of their evidence comes from the fossilized bones of Neanderthals and Cro- Magnons, or modern man’s ancestors (Shreeve, 150). There is a definite difference between their bone structures, and it may be a significant enough difference to divide them into species. There is a set of traits that distinguishes Neanderthals. Their general proportions are short, robust, and strong. Males and females of all ages have thick bones, and very pronounced muscle and ligament attachment sites. They also have distinct facial and cranial features. They have a large skull with no chin, a significant brow-ridge, and a large nasal opening (Shreeve, 49-150). They have large brains, around 1400cc, that protrude in the back, causing an occipital bun in the skull (Lecture, 4/19). Cro-Magnons on the other hand look more like humans do today. They are more slender and not as muscular, with chins and rounder skulls with slightly smaller brains among other traits.
Scientists thought that interbreeding would be a logical assumption to the Neanderthal conundrum. Unfortunately, any evidence of DNA from Neanderthals mixed with human DNA is difficult to come by because their fossils are usually tarnished upon finding. That is until Svante Paabo, and his research team from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, came across the remains of twenty-four Neanderthals and forty early humans.* All of these fossils were nearly 40,000 years old and were from Germany, Russia, and Croatia. Nine of these fossils (four Neanderthal and five human)
Primates are characterized by their unique characteristics, behaviors, and features. This is also why humans are considered to be a primate. With the human evolution researchers are able to find these common similarities. And even though chimpanzees have a very close body type and size they also have some differences. Researchers have found all these results by studying non-primates many different way in the non-primate own environment. With these results and studies it proves the facts that humans are indeed primates.
When and why did Homo Sapiens begin to grow into a thriving population that have produced both cognitive and technological advances? No one knows for certain and because of this question countless amounts of people have decided to become anthropologists. Anthropology is defined as, “the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture(Merriam-Webster). Despite all of the time and effort that anthropologists have put into discovering the correct response, the answer to this question is constantly changing because population, cognitivity and technology are constantly changing too. One way to determine how these factors affect Homo Sapiens is by studying past societies. The development of technology expanded rapidly in the Upper Paleolithic era. The technological and cognitive advances made by the growing Upper Paleolithic people changed their lives for the better and allowed them to adapt to their environment in innumerable ways.
“The scientific study of how humans developed did not begin until the 1800s in Europe. Until that time, people relied on religious explanations of how humans came into existence. Starting in the 1500s a scientific revolution began to sweep Europe. Thinkers started using scientific methods and experiments to try to better understand the world and the creatures living in it. Eventually these methods were turned to the question of human origins” (The Nature Of Human Origins, 1). Earth made it possible for species to change over time because Ancient Earth provides ability to plenty of time.The Homo Sapien a is very complex creature. The species started off very simple by living in caves and surviving with little food and then later evolved into a species that were able to do many more complex things. The first species was Sahelanthropus tchadensis They were one of the most simple humans in that time period and on. They had very small skulls compared to Homo Sapiens today and their motor skills were just the same. We have evolved and changed for the better both mentally and physically. The Evolution of Homo Sapiens started off simple, such as the Neanderthals, and now we are the most advanced species to ever walk the planet so far.
Research shows that the Neanderthals had a “protruding jaw, receding forehead, and weak chin.” (Ansering Genesis) The average brain of a Neanderthal was slightly larger than a modern humans brain. It is also stated that this specific species generally was larger in body size. The Neanderthals also tend to live mostly in colder climates. Researchers and paleontologists found many remains left by the Neanderthals, which include bones and stone tools, found in Eurasia, Western Europe to Central, Northern, and Western Asia. “Neanderthals (or Neandertals) are our closest extinct human relatives. There is some debate as to whether they were a distinct species of the Homo genus (Homo Neanderthalensis) or a subspecies of Homo sapiens. Our well-known, but often misunderstood, fossil kin lived in Eurasia 200,000 to 30,000 years ago, in the Pleistocene Epoch.” (Live Science) The Neanderthals had a very similar appearance to human, although they were “shorter and stockier with angled cheekbones, prominent brow ridges, and wide noses.” (Live
Creationists believe that humans were always humans. Humans are classified in the mammalian family Primates. In this arrangement, humans, along with our extinct close ancestors, and our nearest living relatives, the African apes, are sometimes placed together in the family Hominidae because of genetic similarities. Two-leg walking seems to be one of the earliest of the major hominine characteristics to have evolved. In the course of human evolution the size of the brain has been more than tripled.