Post on 31-Mar-2015
Our Closest Relatives, the Neanderthals
By: Stephen Thai
Introduction Homo Neanderthalensis Lived in Europe and Southwestern Asia 138,000 to 28,000 years ago
Mostly an Ice Age Never numbered more than 100,000 1856, Neander Valley, Germany
1st Neanderthal skulls discovered
Neanderthals and Humans
Common Ancestor Homo Antecessor 465,000 – 600,000 years
ago 378 unit mtDNA strand
Humans did not evolve from Neanderthals
No evidence of interbreeding (yet)
Out of Africa Theory 1 million years ago
Homo antecessor migrates
out, evolves into Neanderthals
Remaining homo antecessor in Africa evolve into Homo sapiens
100,000 years ago Humans migrate out, replacing
other hominids
Neanderthal Bodies Relative to Humans
5 ft, 185 lbs Larger noses, heads, bones,
muscles Bulkier, stronger than humans Efficient and well suited to cold
environments Less agile
Short limbs, wide pelvises
Language
Hyoid BoneAllows humans to produce wide range of
sounds necessary for language FOXP2
“Language gene”Responsible for humans’ cognitive ability to
understand complex language Both present in Neanderthals Did they speak a language?
Brains Approximately 20% larger than human brains
But proportionally, Neanderthal brains were smaller Back of the brain
Deals with sight and touch Well developed
Front of brain Deals with speech and thought Relatively small compared with back
Left side of brain larger than right Right handed
Shorter childhood Less time to develop cognitive abilities
Brain Sizes
Culture Social Unit
Consisted of extended family members Took care of the sick and injured Mostly lived inside caves
Like humans… Knew how to use fire Constructed complex
temporary structures for shelter when migrating
Skinned animals Lacked art
Burials 1st known hominids to bury dead Was it a ritual or simply to avoid attracting
scavengers? Sites contain multiple individuals Usually inside caves/ rock shelters Some filled with items and pollen
Intentional or no? Occasional cannibalism
Interaction with Humans
Usually avoided each other when possible Increasing numbers of humans in
Neanderthal habitats made avoidance harder
Culture Changes Adoption of bone and ivory tools Puncturing holes into animal bones
for decoration Early form of art for Neanderthals
Hunting
Mostly hunted, occasionally foraged Well suited to walking, running, hunting
Thickness and high density of leg bones Killed using stone point spears and
axes Rarely used ivory or bone until human
interaction Women and sometimes even children
hunted Both men and women sustained numerous
injuries from hunts – broken limbs Few lived older than 30 years
Extinction Theories Climate Change
Sudden swings between warm and cold rapidly changed environment
Killed off many species that Neanderthals depended on for food
Not intelligent enough to develop technology for surviving cold, esp. compared to humans
Extinction coincided w/ coldest period of Ice Age
Natural selection would favor humans
Fails to explain extinction in Middle East/ SW Asia
Extinction cont.
Competition with HumansHomo sapiens more technologically advanced
Better tools for hunting and survivalDivision of labor
Human women did not hunt – gatherers Neanderthal women hunted – higher rates of death Result: reduced birth rates and survival rates of
young children for Neanderthals More humans competing with less Neanderthals
Sequence the Neanderthal genome DNA extracted from femur bone of
38,000 year old male fossil, Croatia Helped in discovery of FOXP2
gene
Neanderthal Genome Project
DNA similarities Human and Chimpanzee: 98.77% Human and Neanderthal: 99.5% Possible interbreeding?
Summary Common ancestor Homo antecessor
465,000 – 600,0000 years ago 1st migration out of Africa – evolved into Neanderthals 2nd Migration – evolved into humans
Neanderthals bigger, stronger, bulkier May have spoken a language
Had hyoid bone and FOXP2 gene Proportionally smaller brains Culture
Social units essential to survival First known hominid burials Both men and women hunted
Extinction Theories Climate Change Competition with humans
Neanderthal Genome Project
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