Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Human evolution is the origin and evolution of Homo sapiens as a species that can be distinguished from other hominids, great apes, and mammals. Neanderthals are a unique species as they can be either classified as a subspecies of Homo sapiens as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, or can be classified as a distinct and separate species as Homo neanderthalensis. Though Neanderthals are presently considered an extinct species, evidence indicates that H. sapiens and Neanderthals, at one point, mated with each other.
It is believed that Neanderthals inhabited Europe and parts of western and central Asia as far back as 230,000 to 300,000 years ago. Evidence that Neanderthals and H. sapiens coexisted was discovered in France and Israel. Further investigation and analysis of fossils found in these areas indicate that Neanderthals, as well as H. sapiens, were skilled hunters, used fire, cared for their sick and injured, and possibly communicated through a unique language.
DNA analysis has been utilized in an attempt to explain how or why Neanderthals became extinct. The analysis...
sapiens had a common ancestor. Furthermore, it was believed that the distinct evolution of Neanderthals and H. sapiens was a differing geographic regions with Neanderthals evolving north of the Mediterranean and H. sapiens evolving and flourishing below the Mediterranean. Though mtDNA analysis indicates that Neanderthals are a distinct species than H. sapiens, it may be possible that any genetic contribution by Neanderthals to H. sapiens may have been erased by genetic drift or by the high and continuous influx of human DNA into the Neanderthals' gene pool. Recent genetic mappings of Neanderthal DNA has found that between 1 and 4% of people residing outside Africa are descendant from Neanderthals, a possible result of H. sapiens and Neanderthal interbreeding.
Anatomically and physiologically, the Neanderthal exhibits traits that differ from that of the modern human. It has been found…
Works Cited:
Bradt, Steve. "Analysis of Teeth Suggests Modern Humans Mature More Slowly Than
Neanderthals Did." Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Web. Accessed 4 May 2011. Retrieved from < http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/content/analysis-teeth-suggests-modern-humans-mature-more-slowly-neanderthals-did>
Evans, Laurence. "Neanderthals (Homo sapiens neandertalensis)." Nature's Holism. 17 October
2009. Web. Accessed 4 May 2011. Retrieved from
Accessed 4 May 2011. Retrieved from <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/10/neanderthals/hall-text/3>
Scientific American. 6 May 2010. Web. Accessed 4 May 2011. Retrieved from <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=neandertal-genome-study-r>
Human Biology Human Evolution in Africa The human evolution in Africa is a drawn out process of transformation by which natives' originated from the apelike ancestors. Scientific study shows that behavioral traits and physical traits shared by the people came from the apelike ancestors over approximation of six million years ago. The earliest traits were the bipedalism is walking using the two rear limbs. Other human trait was the ability to make
This postmodern view of culture is applicable in the 20th century analyses and discussions introduced by Boyd and Richerson. In effect, the first assumption explicates how culture brings forth history, and in history, "qualitative different trajectories" occur: "...the dynamics of the system must be path dependent; isolated populations or societies must tend to diverge even when they start from the same initial condition and evolve in similar environments" (186). After
Human Evolution Heading? The evolution of the human being has been the subject of constant research since technology has enabled scientists to have a more technical and elaborated approach on this theme. The results of such research are remarkable and at the same time contradictory. Apparently, according to research conducted, although people have evolved in terms of eating habits, resources available, and living conditions, these evolutions enable them to sometimes use
Bipedalism – Human Evolution Introduction Human evolution takes into account the biotic as well as cultural development of humans. Human philosophies of the manner in which evolution of man came to be is ascertained by beliefs that have been espoused by scientists and societies dating as back as 400 decades ago. Human species, scientifically referred to as homo sapiens has extremely evolved in the last number of billion years. There have been
Africa" to "Out of Beringia": Can Population Genetics Explain the Mechanisms underlying the formation of Distinct Cultures and Linguistic Groups? The "Out of Africa" Theory The "Out of Africa" theory has played a major influential role in how other population genetics studies are approached, conducted, and interpreted (reviewed in: Campbell & Tishkoff, 2010). According to this theory populations of anatomically modern (H. sapiens) humans left the African Continent sporadically over a
The term mosaic evolution is used to describe the different features of an organism evolve at different rates. The efficient bipedal movement is a peculiarity that appeared very early and perhaps is the single most significant development in the emergence of man. Since this information is available from New Haven Teachers Institute, Yale, the information is accurate and reliable. Article-3. Skybreak, Ardea. Part 6D: The Two Biggest Leaps in Hominid