Neanderthals and Other Archaic Homo sapiens
Neanderthals and Other Archaic Homo sapiens
The Path of H. erectus Archaic Homo sapiens And
Modern Human Origins
 ______________________ Hypothesis - all populations of archaic H. sapiens are easily
derivable from earlier populations of H. erectus from the same regions.
 “_______________” Hypothesis - transition from archaic to anatomically modern H. sapiens took
place in one population, probably in Africa.
Archaic (ar.) Homo sapiens
 Divided into two groups:
– E_______________ ar. H. sapiens from about 400,000 - 125,000 ya.
– L_______________ Archaic H. sapiens from about 130,000 - 35,000 ya.
 As a species, ar. H. sapiens was prolific throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Archaic Homo sapiens
 Species with modern sized b_______________ in skulls that retained ancestral features.
 Descended from Homo erectus, transition took place between about 400,000 and 200,000 y.a.
 Neandertals, the best known, lived in Europe and western Asia between about 200,000 and 35,000
y.a.
Early Ar. Homo sapiens
 b_______________ expansion (1,400 - 1,650 cc)
 increased parietal breadth
 some decrease in the size of the m_______________
 general decrease in cranial and body robusticity
Early Ar. H. sapiens
 Considerable variation both within and between samples.
 G______________________________ very widely dispersed.
African Finds
 Best example is a complete skull coming out of B_______________ _______________
 Dates to 150,000 - 125,000 ya.
 Shows a m_______________ of older and more prominent traits:
– huge supraorbital torus and low vault like H. erectus.
– More modern skull (thinner skull bones and less pinched occipital)
Asian Finds
 Asian ar. H. sapiens share certain traits with H. erectus such as:
– shovel shaped i_______________, a sagittal ridge and flattened nasal bones.
– Some of these feature are still prominent in anatomically modern H. sapiens of the same area.
 Implies that a.m. H. sapiens evolved in China from a separate H. erectus line.
Asian Finds
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Neanderthals and Other Archaic Homo sapiens
 The most significant find from this region is “_______________”.
 Dates to 200,000 ya.
 Has a cc of 1,120 cm3 and thin skull bones.
European Finds
 European ar H. sapiens range in date from 400,000 - 150,000 ya.
 All of the European fossils also show a c_______________ of H. erectus and am. H. sapiens
features.
– a robust jaw, thick skull bones, pronounced occipital torus, heavy brow ridges, widest point at
the base of the skull, and large teeth.
– Later ar H. sapiens also have a larger brain, rounded occipital, parietal expansion (forehead),
and reduced teeth.
Review of Middle Pleistocene Evolution (400,000-125,000 y.a.)
 Like the erectus/sapiens mix in Africa and China, fossils from Europe exhibit traits from both
species.
 Fossils from each continent differ, but the physical differences are not extraordinary.
 There is a definite i_______________ in brain size and a change in the shape of the skull.
Middle Pleistocene Tools
 African and European archaics invented the L_______________ technique for tool making.
 Acheulian hand axes are still found.
 Different tool traditions coexist in some areas.
The Levallois Technique
Levalloisian Technique
 Flake tools produced by this technique were found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and China.
 Could be a case of i_______________ invention or the spread of ideas from one part of the world
to another.
Early Archaic H. Sapiens Culture
 Lived in both caves and open air sites
– preference towards c_______________.
 Large “permanent” shelters have been found both inside and outside of European caves.
 Signs exist that they would build temporary shelters (camps) in an area of brief occupation.
 Remains of hearths and burnt bone suggest this species was controlling f_______________.
 Archaeological evidence shows the utilization of many different food sources, including marine life.
 Evidence of seasonal “hunting and gathering camps”
 The hunting skills of early ar H. sapiens cannot be clearly demonstrated.
 A site in France suggests that they may have d_______________ h_______________ off large
prey off cliffs.
 In Germany, 3 well preserved wooden spears dating to 380,000 ya have been recovered.
Neanderthals
 Also known as European Late Archaic H. sapiens.
 Sometimes classified by its own subspecies,
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H. sapiens neanderthalensis
Neanderthals and Other Archaic Homo sapiens
 130,000- 35,000 ya.
 However, “Neanderthal” usually refers to the species living during the last glaciation, 75,000 -
10,000 ya.
Shift in Characteristics of Neandertal to Modern Features
 Between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago, we would expect to find individuals with characteristics
such as those of the Saint Césaire “Neandertal” (A) and the almost modern Cro-Magnon(B).
Neanderthals
 Characteristics:
 Large brain, 1,520 cc
– l_______________ than contemporary H. sapiens who average between 1,300- 1,400 cm3.
 Cranium is large, long, low, and bulging.
 Occipital bun, but not as in H. erectus.
 P_______________ face.
 Very robust bodied.
"Old Man”
 Estimated age: 50,000 years
Date of discovery: 1908
Location: La-Chapelle-aux-Saints, France
 This individual, who was 30 to 40 years old when he died, had a healed broken rib, severe arthritis
of the hip, lower neck, back, and shoulders, and had lost most of his molar teeth.
 This indicates that Neanderthals may have had a complex s_______________
s_______________ that included care for the elderly.
"Old Man”…”Ape-man”?
 Despite the rich material culture and grave artifacts associated, the early scientists described this
find as a brutish bent knee ape-like man.
 This initial interpretation of the material lead to our c_______________ v_______________ of
neanderthals.
 Original reconstruction by Marcellin Boule.
Moula-Guercy…Cave of Death
 A cave site in France (Moula-Guercy), dating to 120,000 ya, has produced highly fragmented
remains from at least 6 Neanderthal individuals.
 The individuals were processed in the same way deer carcasses were.
 Shows clear evidence of cannibalism.
Shanidar
 Estimated age: 70,000 to 40,000 years
Date of discovery: 1953 to 1960
Location: Shanidar Cave, Iraq
 This site has yielded nine Neanderthal skeletons. One of them, Shanidar 1, was partially blind,
one-armed, and crippled when he died, suggesting that he was a member of a society that cared
for its elderly.
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Neanderthals and Other Archaic Homo sapiens
 Shanidar 4, another specimen found here, appears to have been buried with offerings of
f_______________ (although this interpretation has been disputed).
Neanderthal and modern H. sapiens
 Western European Neanderthal was around to possibly as late as 29,000 ya.
 This implies that he was contemporary with modern H. sapiens for about 6,000 years.
 Neanderthal borrowed technology and tools from modern populations.
Central Europe
 Central European sites have dated Neanderthal in this area to 130,000 ya.
 These specimens are less robust than their Western European counterparts.
– This may be an evolutionary trend towards modern H. sapiens.
Western Asia
 Coming out of the cave Tabun was a complete skull with an associated hyoid bone. Dated to about
60,000ya.
– This suggests that Neanderthal had similar language capabilities.
 A different site yielded an elderly individual with a considerable degree of healed trauma
– This suggests that Neanderthal cared for each other in a communal setting.
Neanderthal Culture
 Neandertals of the Middle Paleolithic are usually associated with the Mousterian tool industry.
 Shows finer flaking than even Levallois tools and more functional specialization.
Invention of Hafting
 Affixing small stone bifaces and flakes in handles of wood to make spears and knives.
 Involved three components: handle, stone insert, and binding materials.
 Regional stylistic and technological variants are clearly evident, suggesting emergence of distinct
cultural traditions.
Settlements
 People of the Mousterian culture lived in open sites, caves, and rock shelters.
 Windbreaks of poles and skin were placed at the cave opening for protection against severe
weather.
 Mammoth bones may have been used as support for many hides sewn together to make an
extremely large tent.
 Fire was used for cooking, warmth, light, and keeping predators at bay.
Subsistence
 Remains of animal bones demonstrate that Neanderthals were successful hunters.
 They used close-proximity spears for hunting
 Patterns of trauma in Neanderthal remains match those of contemporary rodeo performers,
indicating close proximity to prey.
Symbolic Behavior
 Neanderthals probably were capable of articulate speech.
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Neanderthals and Other Archaic Homo sapiens
 Even if Neandertals did speak, they did not have the same language capabilities of modern Homo
sapiens.
– This is believed to be the single behavioral adaptation that made modern H. sapiens dominant
over Neanderthal.
Burials
 Neanderthals buried their dead. Earliest definite grave dates to 90,000 ya.
 Their burials included grave goods like animal bones and stone tools.
 They placed the bodies of their dead in a flexed position.
Burials
Phylogeny Showing Evolution of Homo (“Lumping”)
Phylogeny Showing Multiple Species of Homo (“Splitting”)
Genetic Evidence
 Genetic evidence is pointing to Neanderthal as being an evolutionary dead end.
 Neanderthal had at least 27 different genetic mutations from even the oldest dated modern H.
sapiens.
 In modern human populations there exists an average of 8 genetic variations (mutations) between
individuals.
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