‘HUMAN FROM THE NEANDER VALLEY’- THE NEANDERTHALS
WRITTEN BY SHRADHA VINODH
Height: Males: average 5 ft 5 in (164 cm); Females: average 5 ft 1 in (155 cm)
Weight: Males: average 143 lbs (65 kg); Females: average 119 lbs (54 kg)
WHO WERE THE NEANDERTHALS?
Neanderthals are our closest extinct human relative.
Current evidence from both fossils and DNA suggests that Neanderthal and modern human lineages separated at least 500,000 years ago. Some genetic calibrations place their divergence at about 650,000 years ago.
Neanderthals lived alongside early modern humans for at least part of their existence. We now know that some encounters were very intimate - some of us have inherited around 2% Neanderthal DNA.
WHERE DID THEY LIVE?
Neanderthal species ranged widely in Eurasia, from Portugal and Wales in the west across to the Altai Mountains of Siberia in the East.
WHAT DID THEY LOOK LIKE?
Neanderthals had a long, low skull (compared to the more globular skull of modern humans) with a characteristic prominent brow ridge above their eyes.
Their face was also distinctive. The central part of the face protruded forward and was dominated by a very big, wide nose. Some scientists think this feature may have been an adaptation to living in colder, drier environments. The large internal volume of the nose would have acted to moisten and warm the air they breathed.
Their front teeth were large, and scratch-marks show they were regularly used like a third hand when preparing food and other materials. Unlike modern humans, Neanderthals didn't have much of a chin.
Neanderthals had strong, muscular bodies, and wide hips and shoulders. Adults grew to about 1.50-1.75m tall and weighed about 64-82kg. Early Neanderthals were taller on average than later Neanderthals, but their weight was about the same.
Their short, stocky physiques were suited to cold environments. The bulky trunk, in addition to their short lower leg and lower arm bones, gave Neanderthals proportions that would have minimised the skin's surface area, presumably to conserve heat under the predominantly colder conditions of the last 200,000 years.
Some researchers argue that this physique also gave the Neanderthals greater power in their arms and legs for close-range ambushes during hunting.
THEIR BEHAVIOR AND INTELLIGENCE:
Despite their reputation as being primitive 'cavemen', Neanderthals were actually very intelligent and accomplished humans. These were no 'ape-men'.
The brain size of late Neanderthals ranged from at least 1,200cm3 to 1,750cm3. This is larger than the modern average, but in proportion to their bod size.
The Levallois technique:
This technique was developed by the Neanderthals around 30,000 years ago. It involved making pre shaped stone cores that could be finessed into a finished tool at a later time. It meant they were free to travel away from sources of raw materials and yet be able to make tools when needed.
It is known from injuries found on their prey - such as mammoths, bison and reindeer - that Neanderthals were proficient hunters, intelligent and able to communicate.
Healed and unhealed bone damage found on Neanderthals themselves suggest they killed large animals at close range - a risky strategy that would have required considerable skill, strength and bravery.
Neanderthals also developed the ability to make fire from at least 200,000 years ago. They needed it to live in their very challenging environments.
Life was hard, but these people were very resourceful.
WHY DID THEY GO EXTINCT?
The extinction of Homo neanderthalensis is a well-known fact, but why did this species disappear after having survived for more than 350,000 years?
The most recent fossil and archaeological evidence of Neanderthals is from about 40,000 years ago in Europe. After that point they appear to have gone physically extinct, although part of them lives on in the DNA of humans alive today.
Although unsure, it is indicated that we could be the reason. Early modern humans started to arrive in Europe more than 40,000 years ago. Maybe the Neanderthals were unable to cope with the competition for resources.
Neanderthals did not all become extinct at the same time. Their disappearance may have been staggered, suggesting that they were replaced by early modern humans as a result of local population extinctions, rather than being quickly overrun.
Rapid and dramatic climate change may have been another major factor that contributed to Neanderthals' extinction.
When severe changes in temperature happened rapidly, the plants and animals Neanderthals relied on were also affected. Faced with such conditions, only the most resourceful and adaptable could survive.
DISCOVERY:
Neanderthal 1 was the first specimen to be recognized as an early human fossil. When it was discovered in 1856 in Germany, scientists had never seen a specimen like it: the oval shaped skull with a low, receding forehead and distinct browridges, the thick, strong bones.
In 1864, it became the first fossil hominin species to be named. Geologist William King suggested the name Homo neanderthalensis , after these fossils found in the Feldhofer Cave of the Neander Valley in Germany Several years after Neanderthal 1 was discovered, scientists realized that prior fossil discoveries—in 1829 at Engis, Belgium, and in 1848 at Forbes Quarry, Gibraltar—were also Neanderthals. Even though they weren’t recognized at the time, these two earlier discoveries were actually the first early human fossils ever found.
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