The Similarities Between Humans And Neanderthals

Neanderthals, also known as archaic homo sapiens, that inhabited Europe, Africa,and Asia 300,000 years ago. Controversies have surrounded on whether they were considered modern human when their fossils were first discovered in Neander Valley, Germany in 1856. At first, Neanderthals were considered inferior to Homo sapiens. However, after years and discoveries later, scientists and paleontologists have found they are very much like modern human, but with different physical appearances. When comparing the modern human skeleton to the Neanderthal’s, one would be able to notice some differences between that of a modern human and a Neanderthals. One very notable difference between the two skeletons was that Neanderthals’ were more robust than that of a human, due to the fact that they have been living in colder climate. For an example, compared to the legs of a human, Neanderthal’s were more huge, but identical to that of a human (Hard Times). Most of the robustness in arm bones are shown in the muscle and ligament attachment area. That area was joined by their massive trunk and limb bones, which only a few modern human could achieve (Trinkaus 58). This meant that the
Neanderthals had muscles and ligaments that were able to generate and sustain high level of mechanical stress. Most of the features found on Neanderthals’ skeletons were related to cold adaptation. One example of different anatomical differences would be their wide body trunk. Their wide body trunk and their short limbs allowed them to adapt very well to the cold as discovered by Christopher Ruff(Larsen 301). Another example would be the larger infraorbital foramina found on Neanderthals, which allowed more blood flow to the front of the face to prevent facial surface from freezing (Larsen 300). Most of Neanderthals’ skeletons exhibited some traumatic injuries and healed injuries. These evidences suggested that the Neanderthals lived a very hard and dangerous lifestyle that mostly resulted in injury. However, they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without the care of fellow Neanderthals. Neanderthals must have cared for one another by caring for the disabled or the sick. Nine skeletons were discovered in the Shanidar cave. One of the skeletons, which belonged to a male, showed two broken legs, a crushed eye socket and an amputated forearm. He could not be able to survive long if it weren't for the other eight that helped him (Alper). Burial ceremony was also practiced among Neanderthals. Skeletons have been found all across Europe, where were they carefully placed and buried. One example was when the La Chapelle-aux-Saints skeleton was uncovered from a burial pit, the skeleton was seemingly placed carefully in a flexed posture (Larsen 303). This kind of treatment indicates that the Neanderthals might have believed in an afterlife. Neanderthals were also known to be one of the first tool makers.
In fact, they were very skilled at it. Neanderthals used and crafted tools from the Mousterian class. As seen in “Decoding Neanderthals”, Neanderthals sharpened a stone using a process of flaking called Levallois. Afterward, they used pitch, which was created using a complex thermal process, to attach the sharpened stone to a stick (Decoding Neanderthals). This weapon not only indicated that they were excellent craftsmen, but also excellent hunters. Hunting was important to Neanderthals because, without it, they would die out. Research have been carried out to show that meat played a large part of their diet. The chemical signature in their fossils have shown that Neanderthals at the same amount of meat as any carnivore would (Larsen
303). Language, a characteristic thought to make a species “human”, was widely believed to be used by the Neanderthals. The discovery of the Kebara Neanderthals skeleton supported this hypothesis. The skeleton had a hyoid bones which was connected to tissues that were related to speech. When matching it with a modern human’s, they are identical(Larsen 304). Further evidences were found in the Neanderthals’ spokes when Pablo and his team discovered FOXP2, a gene associated with speech and language, in their DNA(Decoding). Around 35,000 years ago, Neanderthals ceased to exist. There were two widely accepted hypothesizes which may have caused the extinction to happen: coexistence and climate. Researcher Clive Finlayson has suggested that their population had taken a hit during cold year, rebounded during the warm and then completely killed when the cold years hit again (Alper). The other hypothesis was that Neanderthals interbred with the invading Homo Sapiens. John Hawkes have conducted a research that showed that everybody in the world had a small dose of Neanderthal’s DNA. He simply took blood test and compared it with those of the Neanderthals’. According to his research, people in China would have about 2% of Neanderthal’s DNA, while those in Italy would be as high as 4%, which is the highest in the world (Decoding). Neanderthals have an almost identical DNA to us, which allowed them to interbreed with modern human. They performed burial ceremonies, cared for one another and crafted technologies. Most importantly, language speaking which was what characterized that a species must have to be considered human. Therefore, Neanderthals are very much considered modern human, and they spoke their own language.