This week I decided to focus on Neanderthals. Neanderthals are an extinct species of human that was around 120,000 to 35,000 years ago.Each human carries up to four percent of Neanderthal genes. Since Neanderthals lived during the ice age they had to adapt by having large face and noses that were good for cold and dry conditions. First let’s talk about Neanderthal culture. Scientists found that there was little evidence for shelters or organized camps. They typically stayed in around rockshelters and not often near caves since no cave art was ever found. They also discovered that Neanderthals had very short, rough life. Next, the big question is can Neanderthals speak? There was not a forsure yes or no answer but scientists agree they probably could. While looking at the remains of Neanderthals the bones around the larynx are not anatomically distinct from modern humans.  There is evidence on how advanced neanderthals are which is how they buried their dead. They buried their dead with tools and other items for the dead to use once they moved on from this world.

They have very distinct features that help scientists look at human evolution.Also its important to remember that there is another name for neanderthals which is archaic homo sapiens.  Neanderthals have large brains and very big faces. When scientists look at their fossils they can tell they aren’t humans since neanderthals have thicker boners and they are shorter and stockier than we are. Next, I also learned that when scientists looked at the teeth remains of neanderthals they saw they had very worn front teeth which suggests they ate a lot of animal meat.Another distinct features are their molars which are called taurodont. Taurodont means they roots are fused together.  Neanderthals distinct features help distinguish themselves from other species. As well has help scientist learn when the change between species occurs and why a species must adapt. Typically a species adapts to their environment or to get food to survive. 

Now evolution. Evolution is the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and delivered from earlier forms during the history of earth. The biggest factor I believe for evolution is climate. As the earth’s climate got colder and harsher the species had to adapt. An example of a species adapting is the when the Neanderthals had large faces and noses that helped them survive in the harsh conditions. 

Paleoanthropologists study these remains by comparing the environment the neanderthal lived in compared to its bone structures. While looking at their brains and skull they realized that neanderthals developed much faster than humans do today.Paleoanthrolpologists discovered that there was some genetic mixing in the middle east which spread the Neanderthal gene across the world. Which this finding is super important to how human diversity occurred. Lastly, I think the biggest contributions these findings have made is that it shows how humans have made huge adaptations to get where we our now.