Neanderthals made and used a diverse set of smart tools, controlled fire, lived in shelters, made and wore clothing, were skilled hunters of large animals and also ate plant foods, and occasionally made symbolic or ornamental objects. There is evidence that Neanderthals intentionally buried their dead and occasionally even marked their graves with offerings, such as flowers. No other primates, and no earlier human species, had ever practiced this sophisticated and symbolic behavior.
DNA has been recovered from more than a dozen Neanderthal fossils, all from Europe. We don’t know everything about our early ancestors. But scientists are constantly in the field and the laboratory, excavating new areas and conducting analyses with groundbreaking technology, continually filling in some of the gaps about our understanding of human evolution.
Both fossil and genetic evidence indicate that Neanderthals and modern humans evolved from a common ancestor between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago. Neanderthals and modern humans belong to the same and inhabited the same geographic areas in Asia for 30,000–50,000 years; genetic evidence indicate while they may have interbred with non-African modern humans, they are separate branches of the human family tree which are separate species.
We learn that Neanderthals and modern humans may have had little direct interaction for tens of thousands of years until during one very cold period, modern humans spread across Europe. Their presence may have prevented Neanderthals from expanding back into areas they once favored and served as a catalyst for the Neanderthal’s impending extinction. Over just a few thousand years after modern humans moved into Europe, Neanderthal numbers diminish to the point of extinction. All traces of Neanderthals disappeared by about 40,000 years ago. The most recently dated Neanderthal fossils come from western Europe, which was likely where the last population of this early human species existed.
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-neanderthalensis
I found it interesting how you mentioned that it is thought that the behavior of modern humans was the catalyst for the extinction of Neanderthals. When I was reading about Homo floresiensis it was said that a possible explanation for their sudden extinction was contact with modern humans. It’s interesting that when looking at the extinction of hominins that lived concurrently with Homo sapiens that one possible reason for their extinction is that they came in contact with us. This is interesting because it kind of mirrors what has happened throughout human history. Humans and they way they change the environment around them seem to cause extinctions of many different species, and this seems to be exclusive to humans. There aren’t other species that are causing extinctions like we are and it doesn’t seem to be a new phenomenon.
Climate Change if not addressed could lead to extinction by way of a painful and slow avoidable way. Super Volcano eruptions and the effects on the population of our species would be catastrophic, but the population could bottle neck.
Then an asteroid or meteor, comet could do it. If this happens in our lifetime is unknown. Yet it is hopeful that as a species should these horrendous occurrences happen, some of which already are such as Climate Change we do as much as possible to ameliorate the issue. As to prevent an already bad situation from being the worst it can be. As with the asteroid and the super volcano eruption it is not a matter of if it Is a matter of when.
Very cool blog, very interating how u mentioned the Neanderthals and how they made and used a diverse set of smart tools, controlled fire, lived in shelters, made and wore clothing. They were skilled hunters of large animals and also ate plant foods, and occasionally made symbolic or ornamental objects. Cool to see how we humans have evolved after all these years. Human history is broader then we know, and we continue to learn things everyday.
Hey Deniqua! This week I looked closely at Neanderthals as well. Just as you spoke of in your post, I thought it was very interesting how they buried their dead and marked their graves with food, flowers, and tools. Learning this in lecture made me realize symbolic this was. As we are distant relatives to Neanderthals, I like the idea that we have the same respect for our dead by burying them and marking their graves with special offerings. Although we have many differences it is nice to know we do share some similarities as well. It is very interesting to compare us to them and to really see how much we have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years.
Hello Deniqua!
I found your blog post to be pretty interesting. I felt that I wrote a lot of things in my blog post that correlated to yours so I can not say too much. I still learned a lot from this post. I loved the topic about stone tools because I felt like I truly never cared about that before but after learning about them in some of these lectures it was super interesting. I did learn a lot from your last paragraph. I am unsure if I just did not read that part but that is super interesting. Overall, I feel that this post was very interesting and although we wrote about a lot of the same things, I still learned other things as well.
Hi, I think you have made great summaries of the living habits of Neanderthals. I agree with you that compared with Homo sapiens at that time, they have quite similar habits and their skills and techniques might even be more developed. As you mentioned here, they could already control fire, make and use small tools. What’s more, based on their physical structure and the fossil remains of other creatures, scientists deducted that they had the habits of hunting rather large animals. I think it revealed that the Neanderthals could use strategies and group work for hunting. It means in terms of intellectual development, they were quite smart beings. Also, the analysis of their genetic makeup revealed that they might have the ability to speech. At least I think communication in their group is not a difficult thing.
Hello Deniqua, I really enjoyed hearing your view on this weeks lecture! I particularly enjoyed the facts you shared on their symbolic practices, like burying their dead because I didn’t focus much on that part of the lecture. In your post you mentioned how both fossil and genetic evidence indicate that Neanderthals and modern humans evolved from a common ancestor between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago which I also included in my blog as I feel it is an important part of our evolution. Overall, I feel as your blog post really summarized the keys facts about neanderthals. You included where and when they were found, their actions like hunting, and other characteristics about them like their ability to use and make tools.
Very informative blog! I always thought of Neanderthals as being the unlucky species who live short brutal lives, but it is interesting to learn the variety of behaviors the possessed. I know we learned about their tool use and hunting skills, but its nice to have it put into a perspective of social human behavior. It sounds like their traditions weren’t much different from homo sapiens, sharing similar behaviors and cultures. It sounds like they were very social species, with some evidence they actually had language, who cared for their young and their elderly, making family units and group affairs important for survival.