This week we learned so much about Neanderthals and Homo Floresiensis and their past. These two species have helped scientist and anthropologist learn so much about homo sapiens and how they relate and differ from other species from the old world. Neanderthals show us what the genus homo species looked like at the very beginning. Their brain size is much larger, they were shorter, teeth were different, and so many other factors about the species to us now. Homo Floresiensis were found to live about 100,000 to 50,000 years ago from the small island of Flores in Indonesia. Studying these remains have disproved the assumption that they lived about 13,000 years ago. Unlike neanderthals., this species was found to have a small brain. It also stands about three feet tall and has very long arms and other primitive features. These are only some of the characteristics and facts that paleoanthropologists have learned about Neanderthals and Homo Floresiensis.
Paleoanthropologists have studied these fossilized remains by putting back together what they can to find out what traits have changed and which traits have stayed the same. Fossilized remains help us learn what traits neanderthals had in the ancient world. They are known for their large brain, which averaged about to 152 ccs. They also had a more rounded crania and big brow ridges. We have also learned that neanderthals have small back teeth and much larger front teeth. These neanderthals were shorter but stockier than us with heavier muscles and larger bones. Paleoanthropologist believe these features were present because of the ice age adaptations they faced when they walked the earth. Studying these fossils can even show how these neanderthals lived and how they interacted with the environment. Paleoanthropologists believe that neanderthals lived with little shelter and that they lived short lives because there were not many olds remains. They also believe they buried their dead with tools, slower, and food to honor the deceased.
These fossilized remains have taught us why species have certain traits and characteristics that differ from other species. For example,. Birds have long noses for food and nectar. We stand upright to use tools, move from one place to another, and more. It shows us how species use and manipulate their bodies to complete tasks such as using tools, hunting, makingm, shelter, and more. In my opinion, the biggest contribution these findings have made to the study of human diversity is showing scientists and ourselves how and why we have evolved. Why we stand up right, why do we have a certain size brain, why we use tools, so on and so forth. Looking back on the past and extinct species shows us how we have changed to better survive and can show us what we need or can do in the future to continue to survive and hopefully thrive in our world. The fossilized remains show us show far our species has come and even how much more can change in the future.
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I really thought the Homo Floresiensis was a very interesting topic this week. It was very unusual for a hominoid to have such a small brain but still have the mental capacity to build tools and be an active hunter. That being said, the animals which Homo Floresiensis were smaller too since Flores, a small island apart of Indonesia, is a great example of island dwarfism. Homo Floresiensis had uniquely proportioned limbs which differs from that of Anatomically Modern Humans, leading to the question of how and why did they evolve in such a way. There also lies the question of how did they get there? If they had seafaring technology which took modern humans to the island then why did they not leave or how did they lose this ability or knowledge. When it was discussed how Homo Floresiensis met its demise, both hypotheses offered up were interesting. Volcanic ash found on fossilized remains could have meant that an eruption or the events following one might have wiped them out or a more recent contact with modern humans could have been the main cause. After all, modern humans were able to wipe out neanderthals within a few millennia after leaving Africa.
I think it is interesting that neanderthals demonstrated some of the customs we have today in regards to the deceased such as burying them and honoring them with food. It is possible that they chose to bury the dead because of the smell of composition rather than out of respect. I guess there is no certain way of determining why the neanderthals chose to do things they way they did but that is the whole science of learning from bones and artifacts, it is a lot of assumptions and deductive reasoning. I wonder if we studied more of early humans and humans today if we would be able to determine what evolutionary changes we are undergoing today and maybe what benefits they might have in the future.
Thank you Sarah for sharing your post! I think these weeks lectures have been my favorite due to it really zeroing down on how our exact species of the modern human became a thing. The most interesting thing that you talked about in your post was the brain size. In this weeks lectures it was shared that the Neanderthals had a larger brain size than modern humans which right off the bat I was thinking why would we be smarter than decrease in intellectuality but that was not the case at all. The larger brain was actually slowing down the process to grow and evolve by spending up development. As a psychology major I have learned how important development is at the young age to define who we will grow up into. I also liked how you talked about diversity! It was interesting to know that once humans left Africa and branched into other places in the world they isolated themselves developing a whole new species in each area. The change in the bodies had to be due to the push of the environments these species lived in. The interesting this is how the modern human came in and took out every other “type” of human off of the earth by natural selection.
Thank you for this post! I think this was really well written and very interesting. I think this week’s lectures were the most interesting and kind of mind blowing. The main thing I find particularly interesting is the brain size differences between the two species we learned about. Neanderthals had much larger brains while the homo floresiensis had a much smaller brains. I thought that this species would have larger brains simply due to the fact that they were isolated on an island and had such good hunting and survival skills. It is quite amazing that for such a small brain they had the abilities and mental capacity that they did. I also find of kind of crazy that the Neanderthals brains were much bigger than the modern day human simply because it seems that we already have large brains.
I read your post on the history of the Neanderthals and homo Florensiensis, and it was very interesting to learn that these two species aided the scientists and anthropologist in understanding the homo sapiens better. I feel that in your post you were able to explain in details the traits of the Neanderthal especially when you mentioned about the brain. In my opinion, I also believe that the changes that have taken place in the brain must have contributed to what can now be seen as part of the evolution process. It is true that Neanderthals were small and they had a front tooth that was larger, which meant that they also had the heavier muscles and larger bones. The traits can be similar to what is seen in the human beings thus explaining in details the evolution theory. Generally, I would say that you were able to capture all the important points in the essay.