Neanderthals are ours human relatives closer extinct. There is debate over whether they were a distinct species from Homogenus (Homo neanderthalensis) or a subspecies of Homo sapiens.
Our known but often misunderstood fossil relatives lived in Eurasia between 200,000 and 30,000 years ago. This was the Pleistocene epoch. They started to evolve between 300,000 and 100,000 years ago, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Neanderthals looked similar to ours, though they were shorter and stockier, with angled cheekbones, prominent foreheads, and a broad nose. Scientists discovered that they used tools, buried their dead and controlled fire.
They had a number of smart behaviors. It is theorized that, for some time, Neanderthals probably shared the Earth with other species of Homo.
Discovery
In 1856, a group of stonemasons discovered the remains of a skeleton in the Neander Valley, near Dusseldorf, Germany (hence its name). In a limestone cave, they found 16 pieces of bone, including a skull.
Thinking the bones belonged to a bear, the masons gave them to local teacher Johan Karl Fuhlrott. From there, the bones found their way to experienced scientists, who eventually determined that they were ancient relatives of humans.
The publication and popularization of Charles Darwin's “The Origin of Species” in 1859 helped to inform the discovery. Since that day in the Neander Valley, more than 400 Neanderthal bones have been found.
The original cavemen
Neanderthals lived during the Ice Age. They often sheltered themselves from ice, snow and harsh weather in Eurasia's abundant limestone caves. Many of their fossils were found in them, leading to the popular idea of "cavemen".
Like other humans, Neanderthals originated in Africa, but migrated to Eurasia long before other humans did. Neanderthals lived throughout this region, both north and west.
Popular estimates put the peak of the Neanderthal population at around 70,000, although some scientists have drastically decreased that number. His short, dense stature was an evolutionary adaptation to the cold climate, as it facilitated heat storage.
According to the Smithsonian Institution, the broad nose helped to humidify and warm the cold air, although this claim is debated. The American Museum of Natural History claims that other differences from other humans are a funnel-shaped chest, an enlarged pelvis and strong fingers.
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Approximately 1% of Neanderthals had red hair, fair skin and perhaps even freckles.
Their brains, however, grew at a slower rate than the brains of other human beings.
social structure
Neanderthals lived in nuclear families. Discoveries of elderly and deformed Neanderthal skeletons suggest that they cared for their sick and those who could not care for themselves.
Neanderthals typically lived to be in their thirties, although some lived longer. It is not known whether they had language, although the large size and complex nature of their brains make it a likely possibility.
They used stone tools similar to those used by other early humans, including blades and scrapers made from flake stone. Over time, they created tools of greater complexity, using materials such as bones and antlers.
They also had some fire control, and it is even theorized that they built boats and sailed the Mediterranean.
Neanderthals were mainly carnivores, and the harsh climate made them occasionally resort to cannibalism. Recently, however, scientists have discovered that Neanderthals actually ate cooked vegetables regularly.
human-neanderthal crossing
Probably the most debated aspect of Neanderthal life in recent years is whether or not they have interbred with other human species. The answer remains ambiguous, with academic opinions varying.
Neanderthal expert Erik Trinhaus has long promoted the crossover hypothesis, but the theory really caught fire when a 2010 study published in the journal Science determined that Neanderthal DNA is 99.7% identical to modern human DNA (a chimpanzee is 99.8% identical).
Researchers at the Neanderthal Genome Project found that 2.5 percent of the genome of a non-African human is made up of Neanderthal DNA. The modern African does not have Neanderthal DNA.
Extinction
No one knows exactly why Neanderthals became extinct and why Homo sapiens survived. Some scholars theorize that gradual or dramatic climate change led to his demise.
Others blame nutritional deficiencies. Some theorize that humans killed Neanderthals. Until recently, the hypothesis that Neanderthals were not extinct, but simply crossed with humans until absorbed into our species, was popular.
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