Similarities Of Neanderthals

The first Neanderthal remains, discovered in Germany in 1856, were presented to the world of science at a meeting of the Lower Rhine Medical and Natural History Society held in Bonn in February 1857 and named a species, Homo neanderthalensis, by William King in 1864. Some Neanderthal fossils and other remains are in excellent condition, giving a good idea of Neanderthal culture. In 1887, two complete skeletons were found in a cave near Spy in Belgium, and more from sites in France in 1887, 1908 and 1911. These and other finds showed that the Neanderthals had populated Europe widely from about 130,000 to 28,000 years ago after which they became extinct. Most of these fossils were found in caves.

Overall Neanderthals were very strong compared to modern humans. Their bones tended to be very thick and had high density, suggesting they did a lo... ... middle of paper ... ...humans until they were absorbed into the modern human species is hotly debated in the scientific community. Neanderthals are the closest human relative that went extinct, if they did indeed go extinct. The evolution of humans dates back some 4-5 million years ago. Neanderthals and modern humans shared a common ancestor up until somewhere between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago.

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.

NEANDERTHALS TO HOMOSAPIENS Neanderthal the most recent archaic human, who was introduced to this world between 300,00 and 100,000 years ago then after many years were replaced by humans between 35,000 and 24,000 years ago. Neanderthals inhabited Eurasia from the Atlantic regions of Europe eastward to Central Asia and from as far north as present-day Belgium southward to the Mediterranean and southwest Asia.” (www.britannica.com). Human populations that were very similar to Neanderthals lived in eastern Asia and Africa. Neanderthals lived in these locations because they had many limestone caves where they lived; limestone caves also preserve bones very well. “The name Neanderthal (or Neandertal) derives from the Neander Valley near Düsseldorf, Germany, where quarrymen unearthed portions of a human skeleton from a cave in 1856” (www.britnnica.com).

Toumai, The Oldest Relative of the Human Race Discoveries relating to the human lineage are extremely exciting and often baffling. This is the case with the recent discovery of what seems to be the oldest member of the human family. A skull found in northern Chad in 2001, has been deemed the earliest relative to the human ever found. Nicknamed Toumai, and discovered by Michel Brunet and his paleontology team, this new category of human has been given the scientific name, Sahelanthropus tchaensis. What makes this skull so definitive is the fact that it dates back approximately 6-7 million years in the earth’s history (Whitfield 2002).

It is not our intellect that keeps us alive, but our ability to adapt. Take the Neanderthal. It was a humanoid species that lived with our ancestors about 300,000 years ago and went extinct about 30,000 years ago. They dominated much of central europe, and hunted large animals during the ice age. Their barrel chests and huge stature protected them from the bitter cold.

Almost everything around us, most of which we rarely, if ever notice, is either made from or manufactured using steel. The production of steel is a relatively new process even though the origins of steelmaking can be traced back thousands of years. The 19th century however has seen the industrialisation of steel-making/production, which has ultimately assisted in building our modern world. People in Egypt and Mesopotamia, first discovered iron, or more specifically meteoric iron, over 4000 years ago, and used what they believed was a ‘gift of the gods’ as a material of decoration. However it would still be a further 2000 years before the production of iron from mined iron ore would begin.

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. It all started when the first Neanderthal fossil to get a lot of attention was found in 1856 in Dusseldorf, Germany, due to it being the full being, rather than a few scattered bones (Walter, 102).

The Neanderthals lived in areas ranging from Western Europe through central Asia from about 200,000 to between 36,000 and 24,000 years ago. The Neanderthals lived in groups of 30 to 50 individuals, they invented many of the tool types that were to be perfected by fully sapient peoples, they had weapons adequate to deal with both the cave lion and cave bear, they used body paint, buried their dead. Neanderthal Man survived through the Ice Age. They are thought to have had fire. Neanderthals lived side by side with modern humans for over 10,000 years.

These javelins are the oldest complete hunting weapons ever found anywhere in the world and they were discovered in Schoningen, Germany.i During the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Era, from about 43,000 to 6,000 years ago, Europe's Homo sapiens hunter-gatherer populations began to increase. During the last glacial maximum (Ice Age), much of Europe was depopulated and then re-settled agaiun about 15,000 years ago. During this period, groups had migrated long distances, following the edge of the glacial ice in search of food, mostly hunting seals. Some groups following seals and other marine food stuffs, made it all the Way to North America. Several dozen European-style stone tools, dating back between 19,000 and 26,000 years, have been discovered at six locations along the U. S. East Coast.