Moderns Humans and NeanderthalsDifferences and similarities by Sandra, Artis, and Emma

Neanderthals

● 300 000 – 30 000 years ago

● Short and robust

● Men – 165 cm, 75 kg

● Women – 155 cm, 65 kg

● Not much difference between genders

● Lived to about 30 years of age or more

Behaviour of Neanderthals● Said to be the first homo-species that buried

their dead

● Gifts in the graves

● Contributed by fossil founds

● Lived in nuclear families

● Took care of their sick

● We don’t know if they spoke languages but they might have

Homo Sapiens

● 200 000 years ago – today● Evolved in Africs - now worldwide●Lighter build

●Big forehead, flat face, domed skull, less prominent eyebrow arches, mostly hairless, less heavily devloped jaws with smaller teeth

●Men – 170 cm, 80 kg●Women – 160 cm, 66 kg

DifferencesHomo Sapiens

Neanderthals● More delicate skeleton● skulls rounded, high foreheads, smaller

heads and pointed chins● Had more symbolic tools ● Subtle advantages that determined

survival rates:● Slightly better language● Abstract reasoning● Shorter interval between births of babies

● Had short and and stocky statures due to cold weather

● Used simpler tools

Similarities

● Similar brain sizes

● Neanderthals same or larger

● Used tools to varying degrees

● Able to control fire

● Similar DNA

● Developed at the same time?!?!?!!?

● DNA studies has shown that the two groups came from Homo Heidelbergensis, which explain why they are so similar

The Exctinction of the Neanderthals

●Theories:●The humans killed them

●Superior●The humans didn’t kill them

●Not have disappeared●Inability to adapt to climate

change

● Some even say that humans arrived earlier than the neanderthals

● Extinct by Campi Flegrei - a volcano

● Ash in the air for months. Shivered/choked to death

● May not been a single reason

● Climate change - got cold - animals

Sources

http://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/m%C3%A4nniskanhttp://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-sapienshttp://www.livescience.com/26831-neanderthals-died-earlier.htmlhttp://www.livescience.com/47460-neanderthal-extinction-revealed.html