Neanderthals are in us
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A Neanderthal Clan. Although thought very primitive, they
even used fire and buried their dead |
According to most, Neanderthals were a primitive relative of the
modern day man. However, they lived in shelter, were capable of
controlling fire and even buried their dead.
They had brains as large as ours at birth and larger than ours as
adults. On average, the height of Neanderthals was comparable to
contempory man, Homo sapiens. Neanderthal males stood about 165–168 cm
(65–66 in), and were heavily built with robust bone structure. They were
much stronger, having particularly strong arms and hands. Females stood
about 152–156 cm (60–61 in). They were almost exclusively carnivorous
and predators.
Neanderthals are either classified as a subspecies of humans (Homo
sapiens neanderthalensis) or as a separate species (Homo
neanderthalensis). By 130,000 years ago, complete Neanderthal
characteristics had appeared mostly around Europe and Central Asia.
These characteristics then disappeared in Asia by 50,000 years ago and
in Europe by 30,000 years ago.
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Neanderthal man may have looked like this |
Now a recent study claims we have a little bit of Neanderthal in us.
It claims there is at least some cave man biology in most of us. Between
1 percent and 4 percent of genes in people from Europe and Asia trace
back to Neanderthals. Researchers led by Svante Paabo, Richard E. Green
of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and David Reich of Harvard
Medical School compared the genetic material collected from the bones of
three Neanderthals with that from five modern humans.
Their findings, reported in journal Science, show a relationship
between Neanderthals and modern people outside Africa. That suggests
that interbreeding occurred in the Middle East, where both modern humans
and Neanderthals co-existed thousands of years ago.
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A Skull comparison of modern day humans (Homo sapiens)
(left) and Neanderthals (right) |
Humans trace their origins out of Africa into the Middle East and
then on to other parts of the world. The genetic relationship with
Neanderthals was found in people from Europe, China and Papua-New
Guinea. Paabo states that his finding does not mean that only people
from outside Africa have some cave man biology. With more study it might
be found in some Africans also.
The closest extinct relative to modern people, Neanderthals existed
from about 400,000 years ago to about 30,000 years ago. They coexisted
with modern humans for 30,000 to 50,000 years in Europe and western
Asia.
Most believe they went extinct as modern humans became more advanced.
However, our closest relative ‘Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis’
disappeared from the face of the earth giving way to us.
- Chamari Senanayake
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