The Neanderthals

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23 July, 2022

The Neanderthals arouse great interest among people and Vinuki Vidhara Ubeysinghe brings us some interesting facts about them in this article.

Long before humans began to populate the Earth, another distinct species had established itself across much of the Eurasian Continent: The Neanderthals. Their existence had always been a mystery, however, evidence has provided great and unique insights into how their lives might have been during their period from 40,000-400,000 years ago.

Humans’ closest relatives

Neanderthals, most commonly known as Homo neanderthalensis are the humans’ extinct but closest relatives. Distinguished by their great cranial capacity and prominent brow ridges, they had lived in the regions of Europe for more than 300,000 years.

They have existed for about 200,000 years longer than modern humans (homo sapiens). Scientific evidence has shown that both humans and Neanderthals share a common ancestor, reflecting divergent evolution.

Differences between the skeleton structures of modern humans (Homo sapiens) and Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis)

Current evidence

Current evidence from fossils and DNA suggests that the two species have diverged from their common ancestor about 650,000 years ago, which has resulted in humans inheriting around two percent Neanderthal DNA.

A common concern among researchers was the physical characteristics of Neanderthals.

They had a long, low skull, with the central part facing forwards, making their face distinctive.

Scientists believe that this feature has made them adapt to living in colder and drier environments.

For example, the large volume of the nose would have acted upon to moisten and warm the air they breathed. Moreover, Neanderthals had strong, muscular bodies but short and stocky physiques which minimised the body’s surface area, presumably to conserve heat under the colder conditions of those years.

An intelligent and accomplished species

These were no ape-men, but a very intelligent and accomplished species who had larger brains. For instance, Neanderthals were skilled tool makers, as seen by excavated tools such as spears and hand axes.

In addition, there has been evidence of them having stretch marks which show the regular use of tools and preparation of food.

Neanderthals are known for their innovative stone technique which involved making pre-shaped tools which could be finessed into a final tool at a later time. This enabled them to travel away from the sources of raw material and yet be able to make their necessary tools.

When looking at cultural evolution, the Neanderthals are an important species which buried their dead, were compassionate beings and also made jewellery. Some evidence dates back to about 130,000 years ago. This was pierced animal teeth and ivory found at Neanderthal sites in France. Even though, it is difficult to say whether they had a spoken language with the non-evidence on the hyoid bone, their vocal anatomy and ear bones suggest they had similar hearing ranges and the complexity of their social lives might have involved them talking, although their language might have been simpler than ours.

These characteristics and pieces of evidence further narrow any perceived behavioural gap between Neanderthals and humans.

Reasons for disappearance

Despite that, the question is why these species disappeared after having survived for more than 350,000 years. One view is that humans are the reason. It is believed that early modern humans arrived in Europe more than 40,000 years ago, which might have made the Neanderthals unable to cope with the competition for resources from Homo sapiens. For example, the genome of one female Neanderthal showed signs of long-term inbreeding within the population, less diversity and isolation during their last 20,000 years.

Additionally, extreme climate fluctuations fragmented the Neanderthal populations during their last 100,000 years, preventing them from making continuous distributions.

As a result, the plants and animals they relied on were also affected. Their disappearance may be staggered, suggesting they were replaced by modern humans with the local population extinctions.

Would it be possible to recreate some Neanderthals?

The resurrection of Neanderthals is indeed possible but barely as there is the question of how to get the DNA which includes all of the instructions for the creation.

Should we bring back the Neanderthals, considering that humans are at least 1%-4% Neanderthal and that they are our recent cousins? There are many aspects to this procedure, such as not having a clear understanding of the concepts and the ethics of bringing back a Neanderthal.

However, the positive aspect of this is that the line between the Neanderthals and humans is blurred, but cloning could help us understand the change in mental development and carry out advancements in the technology used at present.

In conclusion, technology is advancing day by day to the extent that we could revisit the moments of our ancient hominid cousins, the Neanderthals.

Nonetheless, there has been a debate among scientists as to whether it is ethical or practical, Regardless of how bringing back these species would even provide wonders in learning about humans themselves.