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Ice Age Humans

It was during the Cenozoic ice age in Africa and Eurasia, that hominids evolved from their ape-like ancestors to the genus Homo. However, it was during the Pleistocene that hominids moved out of Africa and into Eurasia. Homo erectus was widely distributed and gave rise to the evolution of archaic H. sapiens, which in turn gave rise to subspecies H. sapiens neanderthalensis and H. sapiens sapiens.

 

H. sapiens sapiens and H. sapiens neanderthalensis were both present at the same time in Europe about 35,000 years ago.

 

Neanderthals are named after the Neander valley near Dusseldorf in Germany. The reason for the sudden disappearance is unknown but several theories have been proposed:

1. An increase in the severity of the climate, shown by the advance of the glacials between 50 and 30,000 years ago, as well as a reduction in flora and fauna may have combined to help eliminate the Neanderthals.

2. It was thought that the Neanderthals had more basic tools than archaic humans and were unable to compete. However it is now thought they had similar tools throughout their coexistence.

 

Neanderthals were once thought to be primitive, however evidence now suggests that they were robust and stronger than their archaic human neighbours exceeding them in both height and weight. They had a distinct profile with a heavy brow-ridge, sloping foreheads, flattened faces and protruding jaws.

 

It is thought that there were several cultures of Neanderthal tribes. The different tribes lived in a variety of conditions from the arid Middle East to the cold tundra of central and eastern Europe. The culture of the Neanderthals appears to be well developed, they wore animal skins and lived in either caves or open shelters constructed from mammoth bones. The location of a tribe caused variation in the diet of the Neanderthals, those in east Europe joined together to hunt large mammals particularly mammoths whereas in western Europe there was hunting of deer, bison and other smaller ungulates.

 

Further indications of culture include the way that the Neanderthals buried their dead. Remains have shown that the old and injured were cared for by their family group. The dead, both old and young, were often buried with tools suggesting a belief in an afterlife and graves were scattered with flowers, suggesting grief and compassion from the surviving members of the group.

 

It is also thought that the Neanderthals had some sort of language due to the presence of a throat bone called the hyoid. The site of the hyoid either allows or prevents articulation, unfortunately the exact site is unknown at present. Further support is provided by the fact that the brain case had a small depression in the area of the brain that would have controlled speech. The brain case is generally very large of an equal size or larger than the modern H. sapien skull. The high level of culture and technology seen in the Neanderthals also supports the notion of them having language, and hence not as primitive as they were once thought to be.

Neanderthal skull -

notice the heavy brow bone

 

www.lemanlake.com

Neanderthal reconstruction

http://www.daviddarling.info/images/Neanderthal.jpg