My early textbooks showed Neanderthal as dull-minded brutes
– hunched over and wearing rough fur.
The question always came up… what happened to these guys? What can we know about them?
 |
| Add caption |
Neanderthals have been back in the news in recent
years. DNA has been collected from over
70 Neanderthal skeletons ( Europe and Asia) and a full Neanderthal genome have now been created. Neanderthal
individuals coexisted with Homo sapiens in Europe something like 50-60,000
years ago. They extended into Asia, but
are best known in Central Europe. (But
not into Africa). This was a time of one of the great ice ages – so all life at
this time had to deal with harsh cold conditions.
 |
| A recent artists view of how a Neanderthal individual might appear |
Neanderthal, based on available data, had been identified as
a similar but different species to man – called “Homo erectus” … The word “Homo” (man) is the genus name and
“erectus” (erect) in the species name
The big surprise is that Homo sapiens and Neanderthal share
about 99.5 % of the same genes. But that
last .5% makes all the difference! (To show
this is perspective the genome of chimpanzees share more than 98% of the same genes
with modern humans)
For a quick explanation of the human genome project go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_genome
For a quick explanation of the human genome project go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_genome
 |
| Model of DNA molecule - all living cells use this coding molecule to carry the trait information of that organism - it is replicated and passed on in each cell division. |
Now the big surprise – when we examine the .5% difference
between H sapiens and Neanderthal… Modern humans (H. sapiens) of European
descent have between 1-4% of these genes found only in Neanderthal. (Average about 2%)… The implications are huge
– this means that H. sapiens exchanged genes with their human neighbors! The classic Biological definition of a
species is that individuals of the two groups must be able to mate and produce
fertile offspring. This indicates than
that H sapiens and Neanderthal were in fact the same species.
 |
| Another artist view of possible Neanderthal individual |
Consider the wide differences found among human groups
living in different habitats today. Eskimos over many generations have adapted
to their cold climate by developing a smaller surface area to avoid heat loss,
they are more compact and more rounded in body type. (Natural selection...) Peoples of the equatorial zone developed dark
skin to protect against the intense ultraviolet light. . (The concept of race is a product of social
–political divisions; largely formed during the age of cultural imperialism that
went along with the period of Empire building.) So it’s not difficult to stretch the concept
of human to include Neanderthal. They do
not seem to fit the definition of a separate species. This issue has been hotly debated in academic
circles – and the newest DNA data seems to offer the most complete answer so
far. This calls into question the use of
One curiosity – a few years ago the body of a very early human was discovered frozen into the ice of the Austrian Alps – his tissue showed over a higher level of shared DNA with Neanderthals.
One curiosity – a few years ago the body of a very early human was discovered frozen into the ice of the Austrian Alps – his tissue showed over a higher level of shared DNA with Neanderthals.
So what can we know about Neanderthal people. The best evidence comes from examination of
their campsites and the articles that they made.
 |
| Neanderthal tools |
·
The brain capacity was larger than modern H
sapiens. (Its unclear if that has
implications)
·
Their fossil record extends from about 130,000
y.a. – 35000 y.a.
·
They lived in caves or huts made of stone or
bones
·
Built fires
·
Wore animal fur for clothing
·
Developed moderately sophisticated stone tools
·
Developed systems of social cooperation (judging
from camp site arrangements)
·
Buried their dead with care
·
Objects and camp site indicate that they
probably had rituals requiring abstract thought
It is important to not lump all early “cave men” as the same
– H. sapiens continued to develop and eventually formed the Cro magnon cave
dwellers with their advanced cave painting and fine stone tools.
 |
| Homo sapiens - from the Cro Magnon times - identical DNA trait information to humans today |
 |
| Cro Magnon Cave Painting - France |
 |
| Cro Magnon tools |
Many questions are unanswered – We know nothing of the
speech or Neanderthal folks. Did they
develop the ability to use words as abstract symbols?
Why did they disappear?
What was the relationship between Neanderthals and H.
sapiens?
Are we guilty of denigrating them out of a sense of
“specie-ism” (“we are the best”)?
So I wonder what traits I acquired in my 2% of Neanderthal genes... We can never know – Next time you get on a
crowded bus, look around at all the people and consider that a part of the
Neanderthal trait information is still alive and well…
