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Essay Subject: Discusses new findings & studies which indicate species closer to modern man than previously thought.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses new findings & studies which indicate species closer to modern man than previously thought. Paper Introduction: Neanderthals have long been thought of as a very primitive species, but this view is changing as evidence to the contrary emerges. Studies on Neanderthal remains have shown that they were not as primitive as initially thought, and that they possessed the ability for flexible, creative behavior similar to modern man (Brainard, 1998). They have previously been thought of as lacking language skills, foresight, creativity, and other cognitive abilities found in modern humans. In 1977, German anthropologists reported finding aerodynamic wooden spears belonging to ancestors of Neanderthals made 400,000 years ago (Brainard, 1998, p. 72), and stone spearheads have been found at many Neanderthal sites in both Europe and the Middle East (Bower, 1999, p. 4). Scientists investigating Neanderthal remains in a cave in France found evidence of tool marks on the bones Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. These authors do not believe interbreeding between Neanderthals and modernman played any role in the development of modern humans. Bower, B. (1993). (1994). Bar-Yosef points to signs of deliberate burials at Qafzeh, Skhul, Amudand Kebara, perforated marine shells found in Skhul and Qafzeh, and redochre used in those two caves and in Hayonim cave as attesting to symbolicbehavior among Neanderthals (Bar-Yosef, 1993, p. Stringer,of the Natural History Museum in London, a proponent of the separatedevelopment of Neanderthals and modern humans, disagrees. Evidence from the Levant suggests that modern man existedthere as long as 2 , to 25 , years ago, but Neanderthals only dateback 15 , years. Scientists investigatingNeanderthal remains in a cave in France found evidence of tool marks on thebones of animals found there, and also found ornaments, including piercedanimal teeth, suggesting that the Neanderthals wore jewelry and were awareof symbolism. 161-172. 266-267) believe that theevidence from these two caves at Tabun and Skhul represent a species ofearlier Neanderthals from Tabun as they were evolving into the later modernhumans from Skhul. Science, 282,p. Faria, J. Christopher B. (2 ). Their lower birth rate also put them at a disadvantage. They believe it could also represent crossbreedingbetween the two species. (1998). While the skeletons from Skhul were predominantly modern instructure, the ones from Tabun had Neanderthal characteristics (Springerand Gamble, 1993, p. Bar-Yosef also reports on pierced marine shells, probably worn asjewelry, found in caves in the Levant (Bar-Yosef, 1993, p. As Cro-Magnonadvanced across Europe, the Neanderthals suffered economic competition, andin the harsh winters of the time, they would have been severely stressed.Though they believe the two species would have been capable ofinterbreeding, Stringer and Gamble do not believe this happened frequently. He postulates that sudden cold snaps which occurred between 115, and65, years ago might have induced this migration (Bar-Yosef, 1993, p.99). Sci. In searchof human origins. Endeavor,15, p.115. It appears from the evidence cited above that Neanderthals appearedlater than modern man, and may have been a divergent species. Wolpoff, M. Neanderthals have long been thought of as a very primitive species,but this view is changing as evidence to the contrary emerges. 1 ). He believesthat they coexisted as isolated populations, and says that only further DNAevidence will settle the argument as to whether modern man is a descendantof the Neanderthals, or whether they were a distinct species. Discover, 18, pp. Bower, B. Gibbons, A. 61. H. (1996). Neanderthals and modern humans lived in the Middle East near MountCarmel around the same time, yet the Neanderthals died out and the modernhumans survived. Sci. 61). Not our mum. investigators have examined mitochondrial DNA samplesfrom a Neanderthal fossil found in Germany in 1856, and believe it showsthat Neanderthals were not ancestors of Homo Sapiens (Bower, 1997, p. S. However, this latter explanation is unlikely,since there is such strong evidence that modern humans were in the area3 , years before the Neanderthals appeared. 97). (1996). They have previously beenthought of as lacking language skills, foresight, creativity, and othercognitive abilities found in modern humans. Modern humans in theLevant. News, 154,pp. Bar-Yosef suggests that the Neanderthals may havemigrated from Europe to the Near East, where modern man was already living. Sci., 53, pp. Sci. Faria(2 ) suggest that competition for food, a shorter lifespan and lowerbirth rate than modern humans, and the possibility of war with Homo Sapiensmay explain why Neanderthals died out in Eastern Europe. Giving Neanderthals their due: similaritieswith modern humans shift the image of the caveman brute. The caveman convention: did Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons mingle? In 1977, Germananthropologists reported finding aerodynamic wooden spears belonging toancestors of Neanderthals made 4 , years ago (Brainard, 1998, p. Neanderthals: not so fast. Characteristics of theNeanderthals such as a low birth rate, early age of death, and lessefficient hunting and food acquisition methods, may have led to theirextinction. Johnson, D., Johnson, L., & Edgar, B. This suggests the Neanderthals movedaround much more than modern humans, again suggesting that though they usedthe same types of tools and weapons, they may not have been as efficient athunting and processing food, and this may have lead to their demise. Stringer, C., & Gamble, C. 94-1 . 32-33. Brainard, J. Rev. Soc. Evidence from a Neanderthal buried in Kebara cave on the westernslopes of Mount Carmel with a jawbone with its hyoid bone intact indicatedthat the structure of the man=s vocal tract was similar to that of modernman and that Neanderthals probably were capable of speech (Bar-Yosef, 1993,p. They lived as contemporaries, and shared similar skills, but itseems the Neanderthals, being smaller and stockier, were at a disadvantage. (1998). 72-74. et al, 1991). Neanderthals make big splash in gene pool. News,156, p. 1586-1587. (1997). 4). 587). Science, 272, pp. There were several views on these findings.They could represent the missing link between Neanderthals and modernhumans -- an evolutionary intermediate; they could be hybrids betweencontemporaneous Neanderthals and modern humans; or they could represent acommon ancestor of the two (Springer and Gamble, 1993, pp. Begley, S. While this discovery was considered a breakthrough, there are stillthose who question its validity (Kunzig and Menon, 1998; Wolpoff, 1999).Kunzig and Menon suggest that we wait until other samples are tested beforeaccepting this hypothesis, and Wolpoff suggests that there is amplepossibility that Neanderthal genes could have evolved into the moderngenome through mutations, and that the star-shaped genealogy of the humanmitochondrial DNA genome reveals a history of selection, meaning post-Neanderthal selection in human mitochondrial DNA who render phylogeneticinterpretations meaningless. (1991). 97). 96).Examination of several skeletons found at Tabun and Skhul provided similarevidence. In Europe, it seems the Neanderthals were present first, and werelater displaced by the Cro-Magnons (Stringer and Gamble, 1993, pp. 37).Further such studies have shown that Africa was the original source ofhuman mitochondrial DNA patterns, supporting the theory that modern HomoSapiens appeared in Africa around 1 , years ago, then spread around theworld and, and later replaced Neanderthals who arose later but inhabitedthe same regions. More recently, the skeleton of a child was unearthed in Portugal andit appears to be a hybrid of a Neanderthal and a modern human (Bower, 1999,p. (1993). Ofer, too, believes thatNeanderthals and humans are not separate species and could very well haveinterbred (Johnson, Johnson and Edgar, 1994, pp. A skull specimen found at Wadi Amud had characteristics of bothNeanderthals and modern humans, and it is thought to represent a point intime at which Neanderthals emerged as a distinct species from modernhumans, since there is ample evidence that modern humans were in the areawell before Neanderthals came along (Springer and Gamble, 1993, p. In Shanidar cave in the foothills of the Zagros mountains in Iraq,a skeleton of a Neanderthal man who had lost one arm was found, indicatingthat Neanderthals knew how to take care of the sick and injured (Bar-Yosef,1993, p. Sci.News, 152, p. Ancestors. 99). Johnson, Johnson and Edgar (1994, pp. 279-281). Bower, B. In Europe, too, as evidenced by findings in France,Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon man live at the same time, and may have engagedin trade (Begley, 1996, p. Researchers question whether the Neanderthals developed theuse of jewelry on their own, or whether they acquired it by trading withmodern man who lived in the same regions at the same time (Brainard, 1998,p. German and U. They point out that such hybrids may have been infertile, as often is thecase with hybrids, and may have been discriminated against by the parentpopulations. Sci.News, 155, p. Althoughboth species seemed to have developed similar skills in terms of makingtools and ornaments, using fire, and performing burials, there is littleevidence of interbreeding between the two groups. He believesfossils of modern humans show no signs of interbreeding with Neanderthals.Thermoluminescence dating indicates that at some sites in the near East,modern humans were settled 3 , years before the Neanderthals, whichsuggests they may have had a common ancestor, but descended separately(Vallades, Ben-Yosef, O. What happened to the Neanderthals?BThe survivaltrap. Did Neanderthals lose an evolutionary >arms=race? Erik Trinkaus of Washington University, an authority onNeanderthals, agreed that the child was a hybrid. 181-194). In search of the Neanderthals.New York, NY: Thames and Hudson. R. 4. 295. Their teeth show more wear, and the neck of the femur inNeanderthals was more sharply bent inwards than that of modern humans, aphenomenon which indicates greater activity in childhood when the bone isbeing formed (Gibbons, 1996, p. New York, NY: Villard Books. 586). Neanderthal hunters get to the point. (1999). (1998). Newsweek, 127, p. Kunzig, R., & Menon, S. 199. Studies onNeanderthal remains have shown that they were not as primitive as initiallythought, and that they possessed the ability for flexible, creativebehavior similar to modern man (Brainard, 1998). 73). A theory has been put forward as to whythe Neanderthals died out (Gibbons, 1996, p. 295). The two species were also very different physically, and mayhave had language and gestural expressions very different from one another. Am., 268, pp. If this had been commonpractice, it would be expected that many intermediate type skeletal remainswould be found at the places where they coexisted. 37. A study of the armbones of Neanderthals and modern man shows that those of Neanderthals hadmore rigorous use, maybe because they were less efficient at hunting thanmodern man. (1999). 1 ). References Bar-Yosef, O., & Vandermeersch, B. Int. 72),and stone spearheads have been found at many Neanderthal sites in bothEurope and the Middle East (Bower, 1999, p. Vallades, H., Bar-Yosef, O., et al. Thermoluminescencedating of Neanderthal and early modern humans in the Near East. 97-98). Fossil may expose humanity=s hybrid roots. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.