Modern Humans And Neanderthals example essay topic

Homo Neanderthalensis lived from about 250,000 to 30,000 years ago, which is the last species to diverge from the human line prior to the emergence of modern humans and the last species of hominid to have gone extinct. Neanderthals lived in a cultural period during the Middle Paleolithic. Neanderthals lived mostly in cold climates, and their body proportions are similar to those of modern cold adapted peoples, which is short and stocky with solid limbs. Shorter than modern humans, males stood 1.6 meters high and 84 kilos and females stood about 1.5 meters at 80 kilos.

Western European Neanderthals usually have a more robust form and sometimes referred to as the "classic Neanderthal". Like erectus, Neanderthal had a protruding jaw, weak chin, and receding forehead. The nose and brow also protruded a feature that is not found in erectus and was probably due to adaptation in cold climates. Moreover, they have a slightly larger brain capacity than modern humans (1450 cc - 1800 cc or maybe even more). Their brain case is longer and lower that that of modern humans, with a marked bulge at the back of the skull. Bones are thick and heavy, showing signs of powerful muscle attachments.

In all, the most accurate recent reconstructions reveal a physiognomy that is obviously unlike modern humans. Neanderthal's skeleton often shows scars of harsh abuse from fighting or hunting. One of the best examples is Shani dar 1, a male about 35 to 40 years old with a height of 5 feet 7 inches, who had sustained fractured eye socket, crushed left side of the head, probably blindness, withered right arm, and damaged lower right leg (Jurmain pg. 259). Ralph Solecki and Erik Trinkaus believed that this man was helped by other members: "A one-armed, partially blind, crippled man could have made no pretense of hunting or gathering his own food.

That he survived for years after his trauma was a testament to Neanderthal compassion and humanity" (Trinkaus and Shipman, 1992, pg. 341) (Jurmain pg. 259). Paleonanthropologists have proven that Neanderthals has a relatively high ranking of head and neck injuries (Jurmain pg. 261). A large number of tools and weapons have been found from Neanderthal sites. These tools that they used were from the Mousterian tool industry. "They trimmed a flint stone nodule around the edges to form a disk-shaped core. Each time they struck the edge, they produced a flake" (Jurmain pg. 260).

Neanderthals renovate their tools into a mixture of forms such as scrapers, points, and knives. They specialize their tools for certain requirements such as preparation of meat, hunting and halting (Jurmain Pg. 260). The Neanderthals knew what sort of tool they wanted and they shaped the rock in a basic kind of ay, before starting to strike and chip the core. This new technique permitted new types of tools to be made, each with different and new uses.

Neanderthals were claimed to be great hunters due to massive animal bones found at their sites. Bones were even intentionally buried with the Neanderthal body. It is said to be a ritual or cultural practices that was existing during the Middle Pleistocene. Jurmain stated that "this practice is seen in western Europe context well before it appears in Africa or in eastern Asia".

(Jurmain pg. 264). Recently, many experts claim that modern humans and Neanderthals shared genes and habitats right up about 30,000 years ago, but this is a minority view falling ever further into empirical complications. The latest genetic study suggests that the ancestors of Neanderthals and modern humans diverged about 500,000 years ago. It is more likely that Neanderthals evolved independently of modern humans, as a conservative descendant of heidelbergensis, without significant cultural or genetic exchange with Homo sapiens. Although this is the widely explanation of the relationship between modern humans and Neanderthals, the theory is yet is be determined as a strong topic. Up to date, Neanderthals from 120,000 to 30,000 years ago at the several sites scattered from Europe and France practiced cannibalism not only in animals, but among themselves.

They butcher their own and smash open their brain and bones to obtain marrow and brains inside then discarded the broken bits and pieces with other animal remains. Evidence of 78 pieces of broken bones of six Neanderthal victims (two adults, two adolescents and two children) were found in France's Ardeche region. The victims' bones showed scarring of tools and cut marks that slit the remains of these victims. The skull showed cutting strokes of a sharp stone flint. "They were cutting the muscles from the side of the head", White says "We can tell those marks could only have been made with a stone tool". Experts strongly advocated that cannibalism among themselves occurred due to starvation and change of weather (glacier period).