Neanderthals and Us

350 – 30 kya – H. Neanderthalensis AKA Neanderthals Europe, central and northern Asia Shorter limbs, wide ribcage, larger noses Height 5’7” Brain cc (larger than AMH)

Very closely related to AMH Stronger than AMH, especially arms and hands Range of hair colours, many red or blonde haired, with light skin Good eyesight, possibly better than AMH Same gait as AMH Evidence of language use **Same intelligence as AMH**

Made advanced tools, such as quartz handaxes, 3-sided picks, stone cleavers Dugout boats – sailed Mediterranean as early as 99 kya Buried dead Created cave art Evidence of self- adornment Apex predators – hunted deer, reindeer, ibex, boar, aurochs, mammoth, elephant, rhino Used fire to cook vegetables

Complex social groups similar to H. sapiens Evidence of trade between groups, and with H. sapiens Built shelters In Moldova – building made of mammoth skulls, jaw bones, tusks, leg bones had 25 hearths inside

Extinction Recent DNA testing has shown evidence of some interbreeding of H. sapiens and Neanderthals, outside of Africa 1-4% of the DNA of non-Africans was passed down from Neanderthal ancestors Those individuals and groups who were not absorbed into H. sapiens populations likely died out after a brief period of rapid climate change Food became more scarce, and Neanderthals required more calories to survive than H. sapiens

200 kya – present – H. Sapiens Extinct subspecies? – H. sapiens idualtu 160 kya Ethiopia Brain cc VERY few fossils, so not much known; many argue they are not actually a different group from H. sapiens sapiens

H. Sapiens Sapiens AKA “wise man” Started in Africa, but later moved throughout the world

Blue eyes, dark hair, olive complexion Light skin does not appear until 6 – 12 kya Height Early – 5’7” – 5’9” Modern range - 4’7” – 6’3” Brain Early average – 1600 cc Modern range cc At first, culture essentially the same as Neanderthals, including signs of behavioral modernity