Neanderthals - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... Some suggests that the species mated with the human and disappeared into the other human species. Others think Neanderthals were underwent extinction since they could not compete favorably with humans a process that Charles Darwin would call natural selection.
The origins of the Neanderthals can be traced back to about 250 years ago when a discovery of a born resembling that of a long-dead bear was made in Germany. However, a closer look at the born later suggested that they were not those of a bear as earlier thought. This is because the bones resembled those of human beings despite being excessively thick and oddly shaped. During the discovery, fifteen pieces of the skeleton and a skullcap were found at the site. The skullcap was found to be that which usually covers the human brain. Because of the strangeness of the remains, it became necessary to conduct a thorough examination on it leading to the fossil being handed over to Herrmann Schaafhausen, a local anatomist to do more research (Stefoff 11).
Upon examination, Schaafhausen noticed that the fossils were human but only differed from those of the modern human being slightly. He concluded that the remains might have originated from the wild races, which lived in northwestern Europe documented by scholars. The place was called the Neander valley. However, Rudolf Virchow, a German anatomist also examined the remains and concluded that the peculiar thick, curved bone of the Neanderthal skeleton might have been caused by rickets. He went on to suggest that the peculiar structure of the skull might have been a result of blows to the head and arthritis. Upon thorough examination of the bones, Virchow disagreed with the earlier conclusions that the remains originated from the earlier primitive tribesmen. On his part, he concluded that the bones belonged to the unfortunate individuals who lived in the past (Stefoff 11).
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