Survival of the FittestSocial Studies for 8th E.G.B.Teacher: Mauricio Torres

NeanderthalsThe Neanderthals were a different sub-species of homo sapiens.

The few remains found of them, are all around 30,000 years old, but tools and artifacts belonging to them have been found to be 24,000 years old. This means they survived at least that far.

Tough guysEvidence has shown that Neanderthals were better adapted to cold weather. Their barrel chests and stocky limbs stored body heat better than homo sapiens.

They were largely carnivorous. 80% of their diet was protein based, modern humans, on average only base a 12%.

But they also cooked some vegetables!

They were alpha predators.

Sites built of mammoth bones have been found, showing they had a capacity to fabricate shelter.

Larger and stronger

They had bigger brains.

They were more robust than modern humans.

They were a bit shorter.

They had strong limbs.

Skills

They were a strong highly adapted species:

They had shown early signs of cultural development.

Developed tools on their own.

Controlled fire.

Built shelter.

Used clothes.

Hunted in groups.

Timeline1829: Neanderthal skulls were discovered in Engis, in present-day Belgium.

1856: Johann Karl Fuhlrott first recognized the fossil called "Neanderthal man", discovered in Neanderthal, a valley near Mettmann in what is now North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

2010: Comparison of Neanderthal DNA with modern humans from Africa and Eurasia shows that 1–4% of modern non-African human DNA might come from the Neanderthals!

When and where did they live?

They lived during the last Ice Age.

They lived between Western Europe (including modern day England) and as far as the Indus River.

No remains have been found in Africa.

Extinction

Competition with humans probably contributed to Neanderthal extinction, when homo sapiens moved into their habitats.

Violent climate changes that were too fast for them to adapt to.

Interbreeding: they were absorbed into the homo sapiens population (Genetic research has confirmed that some mixture took place).

• The last recording of Neanderthals is 25,000 years old.

• Three main hypothesis explain their disappearance:

Bibliography

Sources at: Wikipedia. (n.d.). Neanderthal. (Wikipedia) Retrieved May 1, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal

Ellis, E. G., & Esler, A. (2009). World History. (P. Hall, Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, US: Pearson Education INC.

Human Origins: Neanderthal [Motion Picture].

Images taken from Google.