Free Essay on Evolutionary, Physical and Cultural Relationships between Our Species and Neandertal

The most known late archaic humans were the Neandertals, and they were discovered in Europe and Southwest Asia between 130,000 years ago until 28,000 years ago. It is considered the late Pleistocene Epoch (Brauer, 1981). It was due to evolution that the species developed from one species to another until the modern human being ultimately evolved. Evolution, therefore, means the change that happens in a population over a period of time, and it occurs at the genetic level.

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Some scientist as developed the ability to decode and compare the genetic makeup of the species with the human beings. It is believed that the common ancestor of human being existed 5 to 8 million years ago, after which there was a separate lineage whereby one evolved into the gorillas while the other one evolved into early humans called hominids (Brauer, 1981). Most cultures throughout the human history have got myths and stories on how life came to exist, but the evolutionary idea that was introduced by Charles Darwin is what scientist depends on mostly.

Darwin presented the evidence which indicates the natural species, including humans, changed or evolved over a long span of time. He claimed that new forms of life developed from the existing species. The understanding of the Neanderthal mans kingship to Homo sapiens is fundamental to the comprehension of human evolution as a whole (Brauer, 1981). Lower Paleolithic cultures have been integrated into the theory of the Neandertal-Homo sapiens relationship. It is considered that the Homo sapiens evolved through a Neandertal phase.

Since the first Neandertal fossil was discovered, some scientist argued that the Neandertal has a relationship with the modern human being. They even claimed that the Neandertal were a subspecies of the modern humans. The brain of Neandertal can be equated or be approximated to the current human dimension ranging from about 1200-1750 ml, and so it was 100 ml big compared to the modern human beings (Kottak, 2015). There is, however, no correlation between intellect and the capacity of the brain as well as the size. The physical appearance of the Neanderthal was mostly human in range.

The bones were the same with the humans, and they functioned in the same manner. The difference that was there was very minute, and it was on the thickness and strength. The body weight tends to be larger in the colder climates, and the short limbs will help to reduce the loss of heat by decreasing the surface area (Kottak, 2015). The Neandertal lived in harsh climatic conditions which were near the Arctic, and their bodies are expected to be stocky and well build compared to the modern human. The Neanderthal, however, had a longer longevity compared to the modern species.

There are different cultural behavior that distinguished modern species from animals since no other organism could have invented tools to come up with other sought of multifaceted tools, they carried out religious ceremonies, burying the dead, controlled fire usage, played musical instruments and used complete pronunciation in their spoken language (Brauer, 1981). Neandertal buried the remains of the dead deliberately since not more than 36 locations with geographical distribution was discovered having 20 fossils

Some of the graves had stones on them, flowers and animal bones that were obscured in the grave. A boys grave was enclosed by a mountain of rings, Levallois tools, bones from the goats and horns. They verified that there were rituals of some kind that took place on the day of the burial. It is demonstrated that the dead was not just thrown into a hole without preparation, but the celebration was also done to prepare him or her for the afterlife. They were aware of the afterlife, and they carried out formal rituals (Kottak, 2015). Their culture and way of life from caring to the celebration was related to that of the modern species.

Neandertal was human. They buried their dead, had a complex structure, used tools, employed the use of language and also considered entertainment by playing musical instruments. The physical appearance of the modern man is quite minor and can be explained to be as a result of genetic isolation and the adaptation to harsh climatic conditions.

Annotated Bibliography

Brauer, G. (1981). New evidence of the transitional period between Neanderthal and modern man. Journal of Human Evolution, 10(6), 467-474. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0047-2484(81)80093-0

The article focuses on the relationship between the modern human with the Neandertal through evolution. Brauer, suggests that interbreeding caused the overlap of the Neanderthal and the modern human. He confirms that there is a relationship between the two according to their genetic makeup. He examines the fact that the two species must have shared a common ancestor, but in isolation, some distinct characteristics had to differ for adaptation to a harsh climate.

Kottak, C. P. (2015). Anthropology: Appreciating Human Diversity.

The book examines the rich diversity of culture in the past and the present. Kottak explores the human race and evolution to indicate how diverse culture can be from the ancient times to the present. He examines the fact that the cultural habits, perceptions, and inventions are what mold the human nature and brings in the idea of culture.