More handpicked essays just for you.
Similarities between humans and Neanderthals
Similarities between humans and Neanderthals
Similarities between humans and Neanderthals
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
To get a sense of what it is to be human, at least in the evolutionary world, we need only to compare our modern selves to our ancestors such as the Neanderthals. The Neanderthals were our closest hominin relative and died out thousands of years ago. Like us, they walked on two legs, hunted , made fire and tools, and lived in shelters (caves). They were more advanced than many of us imagine they were thanks to the way they are portrayed in the media. They had brains similar in size to ours, they stood fully upright (not hunched over), and had a surprisingly complex culture. When asked what it means to be human, you can compare many different aspects of our lives, such as biology, culture, and even religious beliefs. We obviously have no way of comparing our relgious beliefs to those of the Neanderthals, so in this essay, I will compare modern humans to Neanderthals on a biological, behavioral and cultural basis.
Similar to other pre-human hominins, Neanderthals were found throughout Africa, Asia and Europe and their anatomical features varied by their location likely due to climate and other factors of the region. For instance, the Neanderthals of Eastern Europe and Western Asia tended to be less “robust” than those found in Western Europe likely because it wasn't as cold in those areas. Neanderthals had large brains and most were even larger than today's modern human brain, which is believed to be the result of climate adjustment and more efficient metablolism better suited to cold climates. Their skulls, again, similar to their older hominin relatives, was large and bulged out at the sides, with a forehead that rose upwards more vertically than previous hominins and had a browridge that arched over the eye sockets, rat...
... middle of paper ...
...avioral nor cultural. It's all of those combined, but I believe in this day and age, it's the cultural aspect that makes being human distinctly different. Biologcially, our brains have allowed us the means to have genius thinkers among us that have led to huge cultural advancements. When we label a country as a “third world country” it's typically due to it's primitive culture and lack of technology, including modern medicine. When we label a culture as lower on the totem pole and treat the humans as such, this leads me to believe that our culture ultimately defines what it means to be human and the less advanced your culture is, the less human you are perceived to be, which would mean that in no way was Neanderthal human.
Works Cited
Jurmaln, R., Kilgore, L., & Trevathan, W. (2011). Essentials of physical anthropology. (9th ed., p. 5). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
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.
Robbins, R. H. (2014). Cultural anthropology: a problem-based approach (Second Canadian ed.). Itasca: F.E. Peacock.
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
What does it mean to be human? To most people it means being high on the food chain; or having the ability to make our own choices. People everywhere have a few things in common: We all must obey Natural laws, and we have preconceived ideas, stereotypes, and double standards. Being human is simply conveyed as human nature in “The Cold Equations”, by Tom Godwin, where the author shows the common ground that makes each and every one of us human.
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.
Robbins Burling, David F. Armstrong, Ben G. Blount, Catherine A. Callaghan, Mary Lecron Foster, Barbara J. King, Sue Taylor Parker, Osamu Sakura, William C. Stokoe, Ron Wallace, Joel Wallman, A. Whiten, Sherman Wilcox and Thomas Wynn. Current Anthropology, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Feb., 1993), pp. 25-53
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...
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.
Desjarlais, R., & Throop, C. J. (2011). Phenomenological approaches in anthropology. Annual Review of Anthropology, 40, 87-102. doi: 10.1146/annurev-anthro-092010-153345.
Humans come from the hominid species; short for Hominoidea, which was split from the close relative the chimpanzee. The line is connected before the time where the human race changed to bipedalism instead of four legged walking. Also, they’ve increased brain size, language, and economic dependence. The bipedalism is what cause the increase in brain size and tool use to the. Humans from this have become much less like the apes as they used to due to the evolution and changing of their actions, and these diff...
What does it mean to be human? Sure, one must have the usual physical features such as fingers, eyes, arms, hands, feet, etc., but what does it really mean? Must the human be able to speak? To take upon the actions of themselves? Whatever it means, it can be interpreted in any way from anyone. The physical attributes of any human can be compared to those of our evolutionary ancestors. However, it is possible to believe that there are many characteristics that make a human, but only six define the true, ideal human.
One Difference is Their Foods. “Women gathered animal skins”(Article 1). “In the fall animals were slaughtered”(Article 2) Gathering foods seemed a little hard to do but it wasn’t for them because they have been doing it for the most part of their life. Another Difference is Housing. “Most Lived in Caves”(Article 1).“The Manor system allowed peasants to have land and farm,...”(Article 2). For them Being in the Same Location, Europe, You would have probably thought that their living situation would be the same but the much different. The Final Difference is Religious Beliefs. “Neanderthals may have practiced rituals connected with their belief of Afterlife”(Article 1). “People Celebrated births, marriages, and Religious Holidays, which were a chance to feast”(Article 2).Their Actual Religious cultures were almost similar but didn’t make the
Hublin is a French Paleoanthropologist, and the founder and director of the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipsig, Germany. Hublin is also a professor in this institute, as well as in Leiden University and the University of Leipzig. In this book, Bailey and Hublin discuss advanced dental anthropological research involving hominid dental fossils. They describe several techniques used to examine these fossils, which have led to discoveries concerning hominid evolution. Bailey and Hublin explore humans’ dental morphology, diet, and growth and developmental changes. This book was published in 2007, so it is fairly recent. It is not biased because it is stating facts regarding research and advanced methodologies used to analyze fossilized
... drawn. What makes us human? Through the examination of human evolution, both biological adaptations and cultural adaptations which are distinct to humans can be recognized. Biologically speaking, humans are unique in that they are bipedal, they have larger brain sizes, and longer leg length. When examining the cultural evolution of humans we have a complex language system, we live in communities, engage in symbolic behavior, and act through emotional impulses. While we are often considered to be superior to all other animals, it is important to recognize that while we are animals, we have very distinct characteristics and adaptations that separate us both biologically and culturally from all other animals.
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.