H. neanderthalensis (original) (raw)

Homo neanderthalensis

In 1856, three years prior to Darwin's publication of The Origin of Species, a skullcap and fossilized bones were found in a cave in Neander Valley near Dusseldorf, Germany. Living around 50,000 years ago, the Neanderthal Man, as these bones came to be called, were short, thick-set people with strong arms and legs, a large, slightly sloping face with predominant brow ridges and a nearly nonexistent chin, and a braincase (more than 1450 cc) larger than that of modern humans (around 1350 cc). These features are believed to have been an adaptation to the cold weather and hunting lifestyle the H. neanderthalensis followed during his reign in the last ice age.

When first discoverd, the bones were dismissed as the remains of a diseased individual, or and imbecile. When similiar bones were discovered in France, Yugoslavia, Belgium, and other locations in Europe, these finds could no longer be dismissed as an oddity. Early bias analysis of these bones led to the popluar image of the H. neanderthalensis as a stoop shouldered brute with a bent knees and forward jutting head and neck.

References:

Day. M.H. The Fossil History of Man. Oxford University Press. Burlington, NC. 1977.

Ember, Carol R. Anthropology A Brief Introduction 4th Edition. Prentice Hall Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2000.

Larsen, Clark. Human Origins 2nd Edition.Waveland Press Inc. Prospect Heights, IL. 1991.

Edited By:

Jared Langseth, 2005.