Neanderthals

Hominid Assignment
Nora Sharmarke

Time of existence Neanderthal, also spelled Neandertal, the most recent archaic humans, who emerged between 300,000 and 100,000 years ago and were supposedly replaced by early modern humans between 35,000 and perhaps 24,000 years ago.1 However, Neanderthals and the ancestors of modern humans never co-existed, according to a new study which, if correct, could rewrite conventional accounts of our species early history. The study suggests that our evolutionary cousins became extinct in their last refuge in Spain much earlier than previously thought. Previous dating of bone fossils found at Neanderthal sites in the region put the youngest at about 35,000 years. Now researchers from Australia and Europe have re-examined the bones using an improved method to filter out contamination and concluded that the remains are actually about 15,000 years older. If true, the study casts doubt on the idea that modern humans and Neanderthals co-existed - and possibly even interbred - for millennia. Humans aren't believed to have settled in the region until 42,000 years ago, but the new dating has Neanderthals disappearing from there around 50,000 years ago. The results of our study suggest that there are major problems with the dating of the last Neanderthals in modern-day Spain,' said Thomas Higham, deputy director of the Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit at Oxford University. 2 Location of existence Neanderthals inhabited Eurasia from the Atlantic regions of Europe eastward to Central Asia and from as far north as presentday Belgium southward to the Mediterranean and southwest Asia. Similar human populations lived at the same time in eastern Asia and Africa. Because Neanderthals lived in a land of abundant limestone caves, which preserve bones well, and where there has been a long history of prehistoric research, they are better known than any other archaic human group. Consequently, they have become the archetypal cavemen. The name Neanderthal (or Neandertal) derives from the Neander Valley near Dsseldorf, Germany, where quarrymen unearthed portions of a human skeleton from a cave in 1856. Early Neanderthals lived in the Last glacial period for a span of about 100,000 years. Because of the damaging effects the glacial period had on the Neanderthal sites, not much is known about the early species. Countries where their remains are known include most of Europe south of the line of glaciation, roughly along the50th parallel north, including most of Western Europe, including the south coast of Great Britain, Central Europe and the Balkans, some sites in Ukraine and in western Russia and east of Europe in Siberia to the Altai Mountains and south through the Levant to Indus River. It is estimated that the total Neanderthal population across this habitat range numbered at around 70,000 at its peak.

A map of Eur ope and part of the Middle East depicts the approximate range of the Neanderthals.6

It appears incorrect, based on present research and known fossil finds, to refer to any fossils outside Europe or Western and Central Asia as true Neanderthals. They had a known range that possibly extended as far east as the Altai Mountains, but not farther to the east or south, and apparently not into Africa. Classic Neanderthal fossils have been found over a large area, from northern Germany to Israel and Mediterranean countries like Spain and Italy in the south and from England and Portugal in the west to Uzbekistan in the east. This area probably was not occupied all at the same time. The northern border of their range, in particular, would have contracted frequently with the onset of cold periods. On the other hand, the northern border of their range as represented by fossils may not be the real northern border of the area they occupied, since Middle Palaeolithic-looking artifacts have been found even further north, up to 60 N, on the Russian plain. Recent evidence has extended the Neanderthal range by about 1,250 miles (2,010 km) east into southern Siberia's Altai Mountains.3 Physical Characteristics Neanderthals are recognisably human but have distinctive facial features and a stocky build that were evolutionary adaptations to cold, dry environment. Neanderthals were generally shorter and had more robust skeletons and muscular bodies than modern humans, males averaged about 168 centimetres in height while females were slightly shorter at 156 centimetres. Their brain size was larger than the average modern human brain and averaged 1500 cubic centimetres. This is expected, as Neanderthals were generally heavier and more muscular than modern humans. People that live in cold climates also Skull of a Homo Neanderthal tend to have larger brains than those living in warm climates. They also had a distinctive skull shape that was long and low, with a rounded brain case. The back of the skull had a bulge called the occipital bun and a depression (the suprainiac fossa) for the attachment of strong neck muscles it was thick but rounded brow ridge lay under a relatively flat and receding forehead. The mid-face region showed a characteristic forward projection (this resulted in a face that looked like it had been pulled forward by the nose) while their orbits (eye sockets) were large and rounded, nose was broad and very large. Their jaws were larger and more robust than those of modern humans and had a gap called the retro molar space, behind the third molars (wisdom teeth) at the back of the jaw and their jaws lacked the projecting bony chin that is found in Homo sapiens. Teeth were larger than those of modern humans. Limb bones that were discovered were thick and had large joints which indicate they had strongly muscled arms and legs. Shin bones and forearms tended to be shorter than those of modern humans. These proportions are typical for people living in cold climates. Pelvis was wider from side to side than in modern humans and this may have slightly affected their posture.4

Behavioural characteristics The behavioral patterns of the Neanderthals can be inferred from their anatomy in combination with their archaeological record. From their fossil remains and the debris they left behind at hundreds of sites they createdin cave entrances, rock shelters, and the open airan accurate view of their way of life can be put together. The Neanderthals appear to have lived in relatively small groups, moving frequently on the landscape but reusing the same locations often. This is indicated by the small sizes of their sites and by the considerable depth of debris at a number of sites. The materials left behind show only minor variations among sites, suggesting that there was little planned differential use of the landscapeone site seemed to serve as well as another for most purposes. Most of their early tool kits are described as those of a Paleolithic technological complex called the Mousterian industry (or Middle Paleolithic industry). They include carefully made chipped stone or broad flakes and simple spears made of wood. Although much of their stone technology was simple and crude, they occasionally made high-quality stone tools by first preparing the block of raw material so as to strike off symmetrical and relatively uniform stone flakes. This pattern changes after about 40,000 years ago, when Neanderthals in Europe began making a variety of more-advanced (Upper Paleolithic) tools from bone and stone that were frequently hafted. They also made personal ornaments. Although such sophistication is a late phenomenon for this group of archaic humans, it nonetheless shows clearly that they were fully capable of complex technological and social behaviours. This is all the more important as the earliest modern humans in Southwest Asia left behind an archaeological record that is essentially indistinguishable from that of the Neanderthals. Information about the Neanderthal diet consists mostly of the animal bones that they left behind, but there is rare evidence that they ate nuts, tubers, and other plant foods when available. The animal bones they abandoned indicate that they were able to hunt small and moderately large animals (goats, horses, and cattle) but were able to eat larger animals (e.g., rhinoceroses and mammoths) only by scavenging from natural deaths. The bone chemistry of European Neanderthals indicates that they were highly carnivorous and therefore must have been reasonably effective hunters. The animals exploited for food closely reflect what was available in the surrounding countryside. Consumption of fish, birds, or shellfish appears to have been rare. There is simply no evidence for any systematic harvesting of wild plant or animal resources. Neanderthals were the first human group to survive in northern latitudes during the cold (glacial) phases of the Pleistocene. They had domesticated fire, as evidenced by concentrations of charcoal and reddened earth found at their sites. Their hearths were simple and shallow, however, and must have cooled off quickly, providing little warmth through the night. Not surprisingly, Neanderthals exhibited anatomic adaptations to cold conditions, especially in Europe. Such features included large torsos and relatively short limbs, both of which maximized heat production and minimized heat loss.

They were the first humans to bury their dead intentionally, usually in simple graves. This indicates social systems sufficiently elaborate to make some kind of formal disposal of the dead desirable. They also occasionally created simple forms of personal decoration such as pierced pendants. Creation of artistic objects became well developed among late Neanderthals associated with early Upper Paleolithic technologies. The difficult existence of the Neanderthals is reflected in their high frequency of traumatic injury. The remains of all older individuals show signs of serious wounds, sprains, or breaks. There are abundant signs of nutritional deprivation during growth, more than 75 percent of individuals showing evidence of growth defects in their teeth. Life expectancy was low; few Neanderthals lived past 40 years of age, and almost none lived past 50. Still, they were able to keep severely injured individuals alive, in some cases for decades. This again reflects a moreadvanced social organization. The overall image of the Neanderthals, therefore, is one of archaic humans who shared a number of important characteristics with modern humans, including their large brains, manual dexterity and walking ability, and social sophistication. 5 A map of Europe and part of the Middle East depicts the approximate range of the Neanderthals.6 Skull of a Homo Neanderthal7

Russel Tuttle, Neanderthal, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012 ed. 30 October 2013 http://www.britannica.com/topic/407406/history 2 Damien Gayle, Humans and Neanderthals never co-existed and missed each other by millennia, study claims, Daily Mail, 5 Feb. 2013, 30 Sept. 2013 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2273326/We-DIDNT-liveHumans-Neanderthals-existed-missed-millennia-study-claims.html
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Jessie Szalay, Neanderthals: Facts About Our Extinct Human Relatives, Live Science, 30 Sept. 2013 http://www.livescience.com/28036-neanderthals-facts-about-our-extinct-human-relatives.html
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Homo neanderthalensis The Neanderthals, Australian Museum, 30 Sept. 2013 http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/Gibraltar-Skull-Homo-neanderthalensis-front/ 5 Russel Tuttle, Neanderthal, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012 ed. 30 October 2013 http://www.britannica.com/topic/407406/history 6 Klein Richard, Neanderthal Range Map, National Geographic,30 Sept.2013 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/photogalleries/neanderthal/ 7 Carl Bento, Gibraltar Skull Homo neanderthalensis front, Australian Museum,30 Sept. 2013 http://australianmuseum.net.au/Homo-neanderthalensis/