Who Was Neandertal?
The case for a transition from Homo
erectus to later archaic Homo sapiens, including Neandertal,
is relatively well established within the European fossil record. Both Arago
(even though it is mis-shaped due to pressure) and Petralona stand as examples
of that transition. (arago/petra.pict)
Early Neandertal fossils exhibit a rounder occipital and a rounder, receding
frontal compared to Homo erectus. There is also a pronounced supraorbital
torus. Mid-facial prognathism is evidenced as the face of Neandertal tends
to pull forward.
This QuickTime movie enables us to view the potential pathways
between European transitional forms leading into a classic Neandertal. This
movie takes us from a stage at about 500,000 years ago with a cranium from
Steinheim and morphs into first a cranium from Petralona and ultimately
into classic Neandertal. Watch the enlargement of the cranium in Petralona
and then the pulling out of the middle part of the face in the final transition
into Neandertal. [These fossils
have been scaled.]
Skeletons
of Neandertal suggest they were subjected to greater force than we are.
Neandertals were robust and muscular (See Treadmills, Teeth, Armadillos and Neandertal). They evidence a lifestyle of wear and tear.
Classic Neandertal facial prognathism perhaps is related to this lifestyle.
It is thought that the front teeth may have been used as a vice to hold
objects or food items. Wear patterns and evidence of damage tends to support
this type of idea. The front teeth evidence heavy, angled wear (see the
picture left) along with the evidence of damage. It is clear that Neandertals
used their teeth differently, perhaps in ways similar to modern Eskimo who
also utilize their front teeth to grip things. Although Neandertal teeth
were smaller than Homo erectus, they were larger than ours. cromagnon.pict
Neandertal
Traits
| Large Wide Rib Cage |
Long Clavicle |
Large Shoulder Joint |
| Large Elbow Joint |
Large Hip Joint |
Hip Rotated Outwards |
| Wide Fingers |
Wide and Strong Toe Bones |
Very Thick Leg Bone Walls |
| Rounder Curved and Thick-wall Femur
Shaft |
One of the more interesting things we now
think about Neandertal is that they had a relatively short life expectancy.
Based on a profile of all the Neandertals we know about, only 10% were aged
35 or over. That contrasts to a figure of about 50% for modern hunter/gatherers.
The anatomy of both sexes shows they required more muscular effort and
activity to survive - brawn was probably still as important as brain to
the Neandertals. They must at least have had a simple language ability and
some supporting social structure.
Neandertals also appear to mature relatively fast. Studies of dentition
eruption indicate that Australopithecines matured as nearly twice the rate
of modern humans. Neandertals appear to have a similar pattern. This implies
that there was less time to learn a language. If this were true, many of
the intricacies of a language might be more difficult to learn since there
would be less time to organize and process a verbal language completely.
The skull base of Neandertals is more similar to that of newborn modern
human infants than adult modern humans. This implies they did not possess
a vocal track in a modern sense which would have limited vocal capacities.
Neandertals were a European and Middle East form of what could be called
on a more general scale - archaic Homo sapiens. The braincase had
reached a point of having a capacity larger than 1200 ml in size. Both Asian
and African archaic Homo sapiens populations existed parallel to
the Neandertals. The emergence of archaic Homo sapiens in Asia can
be seen in the differences between Sangiran 17 and Ngandong XI.
By 250,000 years ago, archaic Homo sapiens were found across three
continents. They varied across regions but shared general characteristics.
Study these European, African, and Javan archaics. These archaic Homo
sapiens were distinct from later modern humans in a number of ways.
Out story continues by looking at the emergence of these modern humans.
RELATEDNESS TO MODERN HUMANS
Researchers working in the US and Germany have extracted
a short segment of mtDNA from the Neandertal type specimen and opened the
door to a new era in the molecular study of human evolution. The landmark
research primarily proves the feasibility of obtaining ancient mtDNA from
human fossils. The resulting statistical reconstructions of genetic lineages
add more evidence pointing to Africa as the origin of human mtDNA patterns.
Writing in the July 11 issue of Cell, Matthias Krings and Svante Paabo at
the University of Munich and Anne Stone and Mark Stoneking of Pennsylvania
State University report that the mtDNA sequence is, very different from
sequences that correspond to those of modern humans. Paabo and his coworkers
used the mitochondrial control region of the 30 kyr Neandertal 1, (kept
at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Germany), and then copied and amplified
that genetic material, (consisting of 379 base pairs), with the help of
two human primers that matched the beginning of the Neandertal sequence.
When they compared the samples there were, on average, 27 differences between
the human samples and that of the Neandertals at sites in the sequence where
modifications are known to occur. The average difference is seven among
modern humans at sites of known genetic modifications. According to Stoneking,
if European Neandertals had interbred with modern humans they should display
a close match to modern Europeans.
Statistical reconstructions conducted by Paabos group
suggest that neanderthal and human lineages spilt around 600,000 and that
the female founders of the modern human mtDNA lived between 120,000 and
150,000. Some scientists are hesitant to make inferences about an entire
lineage based on one sample. John Relethford of the State University of
New York Oneonta believes "while the evidence is certainly suggestive
of Neandertal extinction, we need to go back and consider whether smaller
past population size and drift could affect the results, and to what degree.
Also a good test would be to follow this up with DNA extraction with post-neanderthal
Europeans, archaic Africans, etc. (For More)
ISSUES FOR EXPLORATION:
Ancestral Roots for Europeans?
Relationship between
the last Neandertals and Modern Europeans
Neandertals Take a 180
Degree Change
Neandertal DNA
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