Neanderthal “R” Us – Sort Of: Not Our

Mammas but Maybe Our Aunts

April 21, 2012

Perspective• Earth is around five billion

years old

• Dinosaurs became extinct

around 65 million years ago

• Six to ten million years ago our

ancestors, minus teenagers,

became distinct from chimps

and gorillas

• Lucy stood up 3.2 million years

ago

Perspective• Earth is around five billion

years old

• Dinosaurs became extinct

around 65 million years ago

• Six to ten million years ago our

ancestors, minus

teenagers, became distinct

from chimps and gorillas

• Lucy stood up 3.2 million years

ago

• Oops 4.4 million years ago Ardi

stood came down out of the

trees

• Neanderthals hung out until

about 30,000 years ago

• Plant and animals were only

domesticated around 10,000

years ago

• Writing only developed 5,000

years ago

• First cell-phone 1973

• Walkman 1979

• I had hair 1987

• iPOD 2001

• iPhone 2008

• iPhone 4 S October 2011

ArdiArdipithecus Ramidis

• Found first in 1994 45 miles

from Lucy

• 40% of Lucy found, while a

virtually complete Ardi in

125 pieces plus remains of

35 others

• Unlike Ms. Lucy, clear that

Ardi could walk fully upright

• But she was also capable of

living in the trees

• Lacks several qualities of

modern day chimps and

apes suggesting split came

much earlier than previous

expected

– Not the sharp teeth

– Not the differences in size of

male and females

– Face not thrust forward

We Hate Ardi

• Until this fall we thought

Lucy was the man (3.3 years

old)

– bi-pedal the key but

never fully upright

– Small brained

– No grasping toe

– Enlarged molars for

greater range of diet

– Female

• Then Ardi is found and she

is 4.4 years old and chart is

off

Ardi’s Teeth

• The molars (left) are smaller

than those of chimps – perhaps

good for cracking nuts and

other hard foods – and the rest

of her teeth don't look

specialized.

• This suggests that she was an

omnivore, eating ripe fruits and

small animals

• Her canines are small. This

contrasts with

chimpanzees, which have large

canines that may be an

adaptation to violent male

competition for females. Ardi's

smaller gnashers could be

indirect evidence for more

cooperation

Feet• Though Ardi’s feet were

adapted for upright

walking, there is little doubt

she sometimes took to the

trees.

• An opposable big toe helped

her grasp onto branches in

the dense forest that

covered the region in her

day.

• The big toe also would have

made Ardi flat-

footed, preventing her from

running very fast or very far.

Ardi’s Teeth

• The molars (left) are smaller

than those of chimps – perhaps

good for cracking nuts and

other hard foods – and the rest

of her teeth don't look

specialized.

• This suggests that she was an

omnivore, eating ripe fruits and

small animals

• Her canines are small. This

contrasts with

chimpanzees, which have large

canines that may be an

adaptation to violent male

competition for females. Ardi's

smaller gnashers could be

indirect evidence for more

cooperation

Contrast to Chimps and Gorillas

• Feet, hands and pelvis all

suggest that Ardi was biped

on ground and quadruped in

trees

• Yet unlike apes, tendons in

toes are flexible

• Again unlike apes foot, wrist

and finger joints flexible for

climbing and walking

• Again this suggests a

division much sooner

Neanderthal Story

Another one to Put in Pencil

What We Know

What We Don’t Know

What We Can Learn

Neanderthal Sites

Distribution

• More remains found than any other

ancient human species – over 400

• Range from Europe to Southwest Asia

• Dates from 130,000 – 29,000 years ago

with pre-Neanderthal in Africa as early

as 300,000

• Generally a frozen zone but not always

• Dramatic climate change at end

Key Facts (for now)

• 1856: Neanderthal remains discovered in the Neander Valley, Germany.

– At first thought it was a bear

– Not until Darwin in 1859 did people begin to see them as ancient humans

• 1908: Marcellin Boule publishes first major study of Neanderthals, portraying them as savage brutes.

• 1929-30s: Neanderthal and Modern Human skeletons found at caves around the Mount Carmel, Palestine (now Israel). They provide key information about the two species.

• 1957: Elderly (probably late forties) Neanderthal found buried in Shanidar Cave, Iraq. Healed injuries on his battered body show that he was cared for until his death. Not an isolated case.

• 1979: A Neanderthal skeleton is discovered at Saint-Cesaire in France with Chatelperronian tools alongside. It sparked a re-evaluation of Neanderthals' tool making and intellectual abilities.

• 1997: DNA fragments recovered from the Neander Valley support the idea that Neanderthals and Modern Humans are from separate lines of evolution. Subsequent DNA tests have added further support to the argument that Neanderthals were a separate species from us.

Comparisons to Homo Sapiens

• Shorter

• More robust

• Shoulders and Pelvis Wider

• Forearms and legs shorter

• Bones were much larger and thicker than modern humans. Their leg, foot, and hand bones were especially sturdy

• Body type built for colder climates

Comparisons to Homo Sapiens

• Their bodies were short and squat

• Helped in keeping them warm in nasty below freezing Ice Age weather.

• It has been speculated that their noses and large nasal cavities were also an adaptation to the cold climates that they lived in. With larger nasal passages, cold air could be quickly warmed while breathing.

Comparisons

• More Prominent

brow ridges

• Sloping forehead

• Protruding Jaw

• Extremely large

front teeth

Comparisons

• Face closer to homo erectus than modern

humans

Brain Size

• Average Modern

Human1300-1400 cc

• Average

Neanderthal 1450 cc

• Average Dolphin

1500 cc

But Remember “It is not

the size that counts, mate, it's

how you use it."

Teeth

Teeth developed 15

percent faster than

modern humans.

Therefore, a

Neanderthal’s

physical

development, which

mirrors tooth

growth, must have

been faster as well

Energy

• Support of thick bodies in glacial

Europe required more calories and

oxygen to burn them

• Explains large chest to house large

lungs

• Estimated needed about 25% more

calories than modern humans

Energy

• Used two or tree

times as much

oxygen as moderns

• Compare to Eskimo

• Greater demands for

food

• A band of 20, would

need a least 4

caribou per week –

we would need three

To Big for their Bodies

• Muscle and ligament attachment areas are comparatively enlarged

• Skeletons had to be capable of supporting much more weight

• Cartilage at joints had to be overworked which would lead to arthritis

• Small inner ear - balance

• Thumb and index finger two or three times larger

• Legs massive

• Incidents of trauma in many remains indicates

– Mass worked against themModern and Neanderthal

What We Might Know

• Lived in groups of 30-50

• Used body paint

• Buried dead

• Flint Workers

What We Might Know

• Lived no more than 40 years, with most

dying younger

• Women dying younger then men

– No grandparenting

– Children raised by clan

– Children made up most of clan

– Bad at hunting for mobile game

– Bad for gathering

What We Might Know

• Developed and Matured much faster

than modern humans

– Perikymata dating

• Similar to tree ring dating of enamel of teeth

• Children as young as four had adult teeth

• Suggest that once children weaned, were

mostly on their own

What We Might Know

• Child Birth = Ouch

– Head perhaps 25% larger than modern

human

– Gestation probably 11-12 months

– Infants thus more developed at birth and

matured more rapidly

Why Can’t We All Just Get

Along?

• Co-existed with modern Homo Sapiens for at

least 10,000 years and probably longer

• Either shared caves or moved in and out

• Radio Carbon Dating puts them at same

place, same time

• 1960’s – mid-1970’s many argued some

interbreeding

• mid-1970-s to 2010 no way

• 2010 through mDNA pretty sure BFF

New mDNA• Outside of Africa, all

human ethnic groups

today share 1 to 4

percent of Neanderthal

gene

• Probably began in

Middle East around

60,000 years ago

• But later might have

been impossible

• Occurs in China, New

Guinea and Melanesia

where there is no other

trace of Neanderthal

Planck Institute 2010

• Bones from three Neanderthal

Women in Croatia and compared

them with modern humans

• An international team analyzed

DNA from the remains of these 3

Neanderthal individuals and they

produced a sequence of the

whole Neanderthal genetic

code, or genome

• While largely replaced some

assimilation

• Did not occur in Africa– because both groups had left

– no common DNA2010 report these bones

show human/Neanderthal

mDNA interbreeding

Linguistics Capacity• Until 2004 absolutely

sure could not speak

• Discovery of a hyoid in 2004 change that

• Neanderthal esophagus can let us deduce that phisiclaly they could speak– however, the space

between the tongue and the throat was smaller than our own, which indicates that they communicated with high pitched, nasally voices

– Might be missing Fox gene

Linguistics Capacity

• Larynx higher in throat than either modern humans or chimps

• Lack of resonating chamber in mouth

• Yet certainly could make sounds and language is more than verbal

Linguistics Capacity

• Little debate is whether they had other forms of communication beyond signs

• Art, healing, hunting and burial suggest yes

Linguistics Limitations

When competing with modern humans,

without complex language, all activities

less efficient• Hunting

• Gathering

• Building on past

• Planning for future

• Abstract thought

• Innovations much less likely

Hunting

• While seem to hunt

same species as Homo

Sapiens, remains also

suggest far more

hunting injuries

suggesting

– Inferior weapons

– Lack of communication

– Slower

– Sooo stupid

Hunting and Magic?

• Paintings depicting

kill

• Painted clay pellets

illustrating hunt with

animals and hunters

Caring

• Old = 40 years old

• Arthritis

• Broken jaw

• Missing Teeth

• Couldn’t hunt, move

well and probably

even chew his food

Old Man of La-Chappelle-

aux-Saints

Caring - Iraq

• Also lived to be 40

• Blind in left eye

• Arthritis

• Right arm atrophied

and then amputated

• Yet had very worn

teeth indicated jaw

and teeth used for

arm

Burial

• Found in at least 36

sites

• Key to humanity

– Tools

– Animal bones

– Flowers

• More than one type

– Red ocher

Burial

• Boy’s Grave

surrounded by a

ring of bones and

tools

• Another grave had a

flute

• Often multiple

bodies suggesting

families

Burial

• Some more ritualistic than others

– Even grave markers

– Bodies arranged as if in hunt with animal

bones in arms

– Sometimes tools and food suggesting a

believe in

• An afterlife

• Spirits needed to be satisfied

Tools

Tools

• Stone flint tools

• No improvement in

100,000 years until

right at the end

– Probably copied or

more likely stolen

from Cro-Magnon

• No variation across

regions

• No evidence of trade

Tools

• Stone tools used for hunting, stripping flesh from animals and probably creating fire

• Hand Axe– Skinning and cutting

• Choppers– Smashing bones to get

marrow

– Hacking wood

– Softening meat

• Scrappers – Obtaining meat from

bones

Tools

• Teeth also a tool

– Used a gripping

device for making

tools

– Hold objects

– Teeth use as

anchors for

stretching hides

Culture

• Not just caves

• Had fireplaces and evidence strongly suggest first regular users of fire

• Structures out of animal bones and wood, sometimes covered with animal skins

• Also had tents

• Inside caves also had structures

Culture

• Lived in clans

• Buried dead

• Cared for sick

• Some evidence of

abstract thought

• Little evidence of

change

Climate Change• While coexisted with first

humans for 10,000 to 15,000 years, died out around 28,000 B.C.E.

• One theory is that while they proved at least as rugged could not adept to new techniques once the wooly mammoth, bison and deer fled south as forest changed to frozen steppe

• Could not hunt game without cover of forest

• With less food more likely to become weak or starve

– Lack of mobility

– Greater needs

– Inferior tools

– Inferior language

So What Happened?• Birth rate longer than Homo

Sapiens so lost the baby race

• Needed more energy to survive due to body type

• Out talked

• Genocide

• Limited Culture

• Life span at least ten years less than Homo Sapiens

• Ran out of band aids

• Climate changed

• Did not have the technology to compete with modern humans

– Stone versus bone, ivory and antler

– Blackberry v. iPhone

Where They Human?

• Caring for old

• Burial

• Art

• Ritual

• Some forms of communication