Homo Neanderthalensis-
meaning- Heidelberg man
time- 600 to 30 thousand years ago
Brain size- 1200 cm3 to 1900 cm3 (overlap with human or even larger)
.jpg)
Location- Middle east, euorpe and asia.
Characteristics-
Considerable debate has raged over Neanderthals, wether they were a different species or a different race of Homo sapiens. They exhibit a lot of human like featurs and genetic studies suggest that they differed by only .12% from human beings. It has also come to be known that current humans share 1-4% of their DNA with them, proving that some interbreeding had existed in the human populations outside Africa. They certainly are the closest human relative homonoids to walk the face of earth.
According to some theories Homo Neanderthalis had evolved from a common ancestor(homo Heidelbergensis), along with humans. They had existed for a larg time period in Europe, adaptig to the cold climate. They were shorter and stalkier than the extant human populations of humans ( cromagnon man) at the time. This was due to their adaptation for colder climates. With average height of 5'7 and weighing near 65kgs (5'1 and 54 kgs for women)they had a large brain averaging 1600 cc. However they had an adverse encaphalization ratio than comparable and current human populations.
Physically they were similar to humans while thicker bones suggest more muscular built. Their sulls are thicker with prominent supraorbital ridges and prominent occipital bun. Theie cranium was elongated compared to near sphericl skulls of humans. They also had a more protruding face with no forehead or chin.
Having existed for a long time, they had marked variations betweek populations. The western population called classic neanderthals show higher acclimatization and were shoter and bulkier as seen in specimen found from france. However the populaions living in levant, as seen in fossils from Israel and iraq show that in response to warmer climates, they had developed leaner and taller bodies. This population called progressive Neanderthals show marked human like features, with the cranium being less oval and face showing less protrusion.
Despite their large brains they seem to have used simpler weapons and no artefacts were discovered from their sites. With more fossils being recovered and new sites being discovered we are able to paint a new picture of our nearest cousin species. We now know that they did use paints and cared for their sick and injured. In light of new discovery it is also evident that we carry a lot of genes responsible for immunity which were passed down from them.
Further reading : http://www.scribd.com/doc/47620322/Classical-vs-Levantine-Neanderthals-SLIDES
http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_2.htm
meaning- Heidelberg man
time- 600 to 30 thousand years ago
Brain size- 1200 cm3 to 1900 cm3 (overlap with human or even larger)
Location- Middle east, euorpe and asia.
Characteristics-
Considerable debate has raged over Neanderthals, wether they were a different species or a different race of Homo sapiens. They exhibit a lot of human like featurs and genetic studies suggest that they differed by only .12% from human beings. It has also come to be known that current humans share 1-4% of their DNA with them, proving that some interbreeding had existed in the human populations outside Africa. They certainly are the closest human relative homonoids to walk the face of earth.
According to some theories Homo Neanderthalis had evolved from a common ancestor(homo Heidelbergensis), along with humans. They had existed for a larg time period in Europe, adaptig to the cold climate. They were shorter and stalkier than the extant human populations of humans ( cromagnon man) at the time. This was due to their adaptation for colder climates. With average height of 5'7 and weighing near 65kgs (5'1 and 54 kgs for women)they had a large brain averaging 1600 cc. However they had an adverse encaphalization ratio than comparable and current human populations.
Physically they were similar to humans while thicker bones suggest more muscular built. Their sulls are thicker with prominent supraorbital ridges and prominent occipital bun. Theie cranium was elongated compared to near sphericl skulls of humans. They also had a more protruding face with no forehead or chin.
Having existed for a long time, they had marked variations betweek populations. The western population called classic neanderthals show higher acclimatization and were shoter and bulkier as seen in specimen found from france. However the populaions living in levant, as seen in fossils from Israel and iraq show that in response to warmer climates, they had developed leaner and taller bodies. This population called progressive Neanderthals show marked human like features, with the cranium being less oval and face showing less protrusion.
Despite their large brains they seem to have used simpler weapons and no artefacts were discovered from their sites. With more fossils being recovered and new sites being discovered we are able to paint a new picture of our nearest cousin species. We now know that they did use paints and cared for their sick and injured. In light of new discovery it is also evident that we carry a lot of genes responsible for immunity which were passed down from them.
Further reading : http://www.scribd.com/doc/47620322/Classical-vs-Levantine-Neanderthals-SLIDES
http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_2.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment