William Golding imagined a prehistoric encounter between Neanderthals and our ancestors, Homo sapiens. In 1955, when he wrote the novel describing a preliterate society gradually exterminated by a more modern civilization, our understanding of this Stone Age encounter was sketchy. Scientists could not even say whether Homo sapiens sapiens had lived at the same time as Neanderthals, or instead were descended from them. But in the last 10 years, a much more complete picture has emerged of what happened--40,000 years ago--when the last two branches of the human family tree met, and one prevailed. Neanderthals were not as primitive as they are often portrayed in popular culture. They were humans like us, and their brains were at least as big as ours. They were larger and stronger, and were successful hunters of big and small game. They probably even had language, which is generally thought to have arisen between 300,000 and 400,000 years ago. They were, in any case, anatomically capable of speech. Their stocky bodies are thought to have made them well adapted to the northern latitudes and glacial climates of Europe, where they lived for at least 300,000 years--far longer than we have.

1. BIOSYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION
CULTURAL REVOLUTION OF HOMO
NEANDERTHALENSIS
SUBMITTED BY
M. HEMA
21MZO306
I – M.SC. ZOOLOGY
GOVT. ARTS COLLEGE
COIMBATORE
SUBMITTED TO
PROF.K KRISHNAMOORTHY
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
DEPT. OF ZOOLOGY
GOVT. ARTS COLLEGE
COIMBATORE

2. Homo neanderthalensis – The Neanderthals
■ Neanderthals co-existed with modern humans for long periods of
time before eventually becoming extinct about 28,000 years ago.
■ The unfortunate stereotype of these people as dim-witted and brutish
cavemen still lingers in popular ideology
■ but research has revealed a more nuanced picture.
Source: images.theconversation.com

3. Background on discovery
■ This species lived between 28,000 and 300,000
years ago.
– early Homo neanderthalensis from about
300,000 years ago
– classic Homo neanderthalensis from about
130,000 years ago
– late Homo neanderthalensis from about
45,000 years ago
Source: serviciodeviajes.com

4. Important fossil discoveries
■ The first Neanderthal fossil was found in 1829, but it
was not recognised as a possible human ancestor until
more fossils were discovered during the second half of
the 19th century.
■ Since then, thousands of fossils representing the
remains of many hundreds of Neanderthal individuals
have been recovered from sites across Europe and the
Middle East.
■ These include babies, children and adults up to about
40 years of age.
■ As a result, more is known about this human ancestor
than about any other.
Source: nhm.ac.uk

5. Key specimens:
Le Moustier
■ A 45,000-year-old skull discovered in Le Moustier, France.
■ The distinctive features of Neanderthals are already apparent in this
adolescent individual.
■ This shows that these characteristics were genetic and not developed during
an individual’s lifetime.
Source: donsmaps.com

6. Shanidar 1
■ Upper jaw with teeth.
■ The front teeth of Neanderthals often show heavy wear, a characteristic that is
even found in young Neanderthals.
■ It is probable that they used their teeth as a kind of vice to help them hold
animal skins or other objects as they worked.
Source: humanorigins.si.edu

7. La Ferrassie 1
■ A 50,000-year-old skull discovered in 1909 in La Ferrassie, France.
■ This skull of an elderly male has the features associated with ‘classic’
European Neanderthals.
Source: media.sciencephoto.com

8. Amud 1
■ A 45,000-year-old skull discovered in1961 by Hisashi Suzuki in Amud, Israel.
■ This individual was more than 180 centimetres tall and had the largest brain of any
fossil human (1740 cubic centimetres).
■ Neanderthals probably migrated to the Middle East during times of harsh European
winters.
■ These individuals had less robust features than their European counterparts.
Source: donsmaps.com

9. Maba
■ A partial skull classifed as Homo sp. (species uncertain) and
discovered in Maba, China.
■ This partial skull, dated to about 120,000 – 140,000 years old,
shows remarkable similarities to European Neanderthals and its
discovery in southern China suggests the possibility that
Neanderthals travelled further east than once thought.
■ More fossil evidence from Asia is needed to understand the
significance of this specimen.
Source: peterbrown-palaeoanthropology.net

10. What the Neanderthal name means
■ Homo, is a Latin word meaning ‘human’ or ‘man’.
■ The word neanderthalensis is based on the location where the first major
specimen was discovered in 1856 – the Neander Valley in Germany.
■ The German word for valley is ‘Tal’ although in the 1800s it was spelt
‘Thal’.
■ Homo neanderthalensis therefore means ‘Human from the Neander
Valley’.

11. Distribution
■ Remains of this species have been found scattered across Europe and the
Middle East. The eastern-most occurrence of a Neanderthal may be
represented by a fossil skull from China known as ‘Maba’.
■ A study published in 2009 confirms the presence of three separate sub-
groups of Neanderthals, between which slight differences could be
observed, and suggests the existence of a fourth group in western Asia.
■ The study analysed the genetic variability, and modelled different
scenarios, based on the genetic structure of the maternally transmitted
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).
■ The study was possible thanks to the publication, since 1997, of 15
mtDNA sequences from 12 Neanderthals.
■ According to the study, the size of the Neanderthal population was not
constant over time and a certain amount of migration occurred among the
sub-groups.

12. Neanderthals key physical feature
■ Neanderthals are recognisably human but have distinctive facial
features and a stocky build that were evolutionary adaptations to cold,
dry environments.
Body and shape
■ Neanderthals were generally shorter and had more robust skeletons and
muscular bodies than modern humans
■ males averaged about 168 centimetres in height while females were
slightly shorter at 156 centimetres.
Source: drneurosaurus.com

13. Brain
■ Brain size was larger than the average modern human brain and
averaged 1500 cubic centimetres.
■ This is expected, as Neanderthals were generally heavier and more
muscular than modern humans.
■ People that live in cold climates also tend to have larger brains than
those living in warm climates.
Source:. i.ytimg.com

14. Skull
■ Distinctive skull shape that was long and low, with a rounded brain
case
■ Back of the skull had a bulge called the occipital bun and a depression
(the suprainiac fossa) for the attachment of strong neck muscles
■ Thick but rounded brow ridge lay under a relatively flat and receding
forehead
■ Mid-face region showed a characteristic forward projection (this
resulted in a face that looked like it had been ‘pulled’forward by the
nose)
■ Orbits (eye sockets) were large and rounded
■ Nose was broad and very large
Source:. uploads-ssl.webflow.com

15. Jaws and teeth
■ Jaws were larger and more robust than those of modern humans and
had a gap called the retromolar space, behind the third molars
(wisdom teeth) at the back of the jaw.
■ Jaw lacked the projecting bony chin that is found in Homo sapiens.
■ Teeth were larger than those of modern humans.
Source:. upload.wikimedia.org

16. Limbs and pelvis
■ limb bones were thick and had large joints which indicates
they had strongly muscled arms and legs
■ shin bones and forearms tended to be shorter than those of
modern humans. These proportions are typical for people
living in cold climates.
■ Pelvis was wider from side to side than in modern humans
and this may have slightly affected their posture
Source:. csueastbay.edu

17. What happened to the Neanderthals?
■ Neanderthals persisted for hundreds of thousands of years in extremely harsh conditions.
■ They shared Europe for 10,000 years with Homo sapiens.
■ Today they no longer exist.
■ Beyond these facts the fate of Neanderthals has generated much debate.

18. Two main theories
■ Theory 1:
– They interbred with Homo sapiens sapiens on a relatively large scale.
– Followers of this theory believe that although Neanderthals as organisms no
longer exist their genes were present in early modern Europeans and may still exist
today.
– Interbreeding diluted Neanderthal DNA because there were significantly more
Homo sapiens sapiens.
– Neanderthals were a sub-species of Homo sapiens rather than a separate species
and hence their scientific name is Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.

19. Two main theories
■ Theory 2:
– They were essentially replaced by Homo sapiens.
– In this case, Neanderthals are a separate species from Homo sapiens.
– This model does allow for peripheral interbreeding but no significant genetic input from Neanderthals to modern
Europeans.

20. Why did they become extinct?
■ Various reasons have been proposed for the ‘replacement’ of Neanderthals by modern humans.
■ Today, most theories accept that Neanderthals displayed advanced behaviours and adaptive strategies and were not sluggish
brutes that stood no chance against the vastly superior Homo sapiens.
■ However,the incoming Homo sapiens were doing something that was different enough, and just that little bit more superior, to
give them an edge under the circumstances.
■ Exactly what was ‘a little bit more superior’is debated.
■ Of particular interest are a number of new studies that focus on the role of climate change and the subtle differences that
behaviour and biology play in these conditions.

21. Biological
■ Neanderthal reproductive success and survival rates appear poor
compared to Homo sapiens.
■ Neanderthal metabolic rates appeared to be much higher than modern
humans so would have required more food to survive.
■ Claims that Neanderthals could not run as well as modern humans over
long distances is supported by evidence from Neanderthal ankles.
■ Their heel bones are longer than modern humans’, resulting in a longer
Achilles tendon.
Source: cdn.sci-news.com

22. Social and behavioural
■ Neanderthal culture lacks the depth of symbolic and progressive thought displayed by
modern humans and this may have made competing difficult. Neanderthal culture
remained relatively static whereas the contemporary Homo sapiens were steadily evolving
a complex culture
■ By the time Homo sapiens arrived in Europe 40,000 years ago they had a highly
developed cultural system. This is despite the fact that 100,000 years ago there is
relatively no cultural difference between either species in the archaeological record.
■ Neanderthals may have had limited speech and language capabilities compared to Homo
sapiens and the extent of the differences may have played a role in their extinction.
■ Neanderthals may have lacked the adaptive nature of modern humans who had complex
social networks across wide areas.
■ The survival techniques of Neanderthals were not as developed as Homo sapiens. For
instance, studies on stress and build-up of tissue in Neanderthal bones indicate they may
have lacked systematic and directional planning in procuring food.
■ Neanderthals may not have used their brains they way modern humans do as their brains
were shaped differently – modern human brains have expanded parietal and cerebellar
regions.
■ Possible violent interactions with modern humans.
Source: imgix.bustle.com

23. Environment or climate
■ New data on the glacial period that occurred from about 65,000 to 25,000 years ago (known as
OIS-3) shows that it was a period of rapid, severe and abrupt climate changes with profound
environmental impacts.
■ Although Neanderthals were physically adapted to the cold, the severe changes in conditions
(within individuals' lifetimes in many cases) allowed no time for populations to recover.
■ Even small advantages in biology, behaviour or lifestyle, such as those mentioned above,
would mean the difference between life and death.
■ The archaeological record indicates that modern humans had a wider range of adaptations
which would have helped in survival.
■ There is another angle to the climate change theory.
■ Evidence based on extensive surveys of sites in Europe suggests that Neanderthal replacement
was not due to direct competition with modern humans.
■ Instead, evidence suggests that the severe conditions made the continent inhospitable for all
humans living in Europe - and all populations died out about 30-28,000 years ago.
■ However, there were other modern human populations living in Africa that were able to
recolonise Europe at a later date.
■ As there were no Neanderthal populations elsewhere, they became extinct. Source: scitechdaily.com

24. REFERENCE
1. https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/homo-neanderthalensis/
2. http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-neanderthalensis