Origins of Neanderthals - Research Paper Example

How Neanderthals Injuries are Like a Rodeo Clown Injuries and How This Relates to Our Interpretation of Human Behavior Introduction Neanderthals are one of the species said to have existed many centuries ago, but later underwent extinction. Its origin is traced back to about 250 years ago in German where the fossils were found resembling those of a human being (Millars 5). Later anatomic analysis suggested that it was indeed a human species that lived in Europe a long time ago before becoming extinct. Neanderthals are thought to have been the closest species to the modern human beings. This is because they shared common features with the modern human beings. Millars notes that a research is still ongoing in an attempt to unearth what caused its extinction (5). 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. Origins of Neanderthals 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). The conclusion made by Virchow did not attract a lot of attention until 1864, when William King, an Irish geologist published a new opinion regarding the Neanderthal fossil. It is in this publication that King officially declared that the remains were indeed human. However, he revealed that the fossils originated from a different species of human beings slightly different from the modern human beings. It is hen that he named the species Homo Neanderthalensis of Neanderthal Man, which is a German word for valley (Stefoff 12). Physical features of Neanderthal Neanderthal is thought to have close resemblance to the modern human beings in terms of the physical characterizes and cranial capacity. For instance, they are said to have had larger brains just like the modern human beings. However, they had a large nose, a characteristic thought to have been developed through natural selection as an adaptation feature for cold climate. This feature is still common with the people living in the modern sub-arctic regions. What is noted is that their brains were close to 13 times larger than those of the modern human beings are. On average, the brain of a Neanderthal measured 1,500 milliliters in volume and is said to have been large to give room for larger cerebral hemisphere. They are also documented as very intelligent people despite there being no record left behind to show their intelligence after extinction. Nevertheless, some historians point out that Neanderthals could walk comfortably in the street wearing a suit collar and tie just like any other human (Mithen 31). Concerning height, the remains suggest that they were very short and were barely 1.65m tall. Male is said to measure an average of 1.75m tall while females measured 1.60m in average. This could be compared with the modern pigmies of African who are of almost of the same height. However, the Neanderthal was very muscular implying that they were very strong people. A study reveals that they had larger joints, thick bones that made them very strong. These characteristics were also present in children as they could be seen immediately after birth. Unlike the modern human beings, the remains of Neanderthal suggested that these people lacked the chin present in modern human beings. In addition, they lacked some of the molars, which modern human beings have. This characteristic certainly distinguishes them from the modern human beings (Mithen 33). Neanderthals also had muscular chests probably due to the nature of work they did. The fossils suggest that they had long bodies, but with shorter legs. In addition, a closer examination of the skull suggest that they had a large eye socket capable of carrying larger eyeballs compared to those of the modern human beings. This also suggests that the eyes of Neanderthal were relatively larger compared to those of the current human beings (Millars 8). A study conducted on the fossils also revealed that the Neanderthal have well developed biceps, triceps and caves. In addition, the same study found out that their back muscles and pectoral chests were also well developed. All the physical characteristics of Neanderthals combined suggests that they weighed more than a modern human being of a similar height. In fact, one study concludes that they might have weighed more than 10 kilos than the present human beings of the same height (Henry 82). Evidence of similarities between Neanderthal injuries and rodeo clown injuries The claim by King that the species were an extinct branch of the human family latter drew a lot of attention, particularly in the field of science. In this regard, scientists have tried to analyze the remains of Neanderthal will have pointed that the species died of injuries. Many scientists have argued that they went extinct due to their inferior throwing ability. However, this might look absurd based on the fact that every human nature tries very hard to improve their throwing ability. Research has established that Neanderthal were great hunters and depended on wild meat as their main source of food. The isotopic carbon 13 evidence has showed that Neanderthal ate a lot of red meat, which is a clear indication that they were hunters. Some of the animals thought to have been hunted by Neanderthal include reindeer, red deer, and mammoths. However, analysis has also showed that they used inferior weapons to make a kill. Some of the inferior weapons used by Neanderthal for hunting included stone-made weapons (lithic), and wooden spears among others (Trinkaus 141). The use of these inferior weapons is thought to have exposed Neanderthal to risk of attack by wild animals during hunting spree. Pathological evidence on the remains shows that Neanderthal sustained a lot of injuries from the upper body trauma. Analysis of the pattern of injuries has shown resemblance to those sustained by many rodeo riders. However, since there is no one who has argued that Neanderthal might have ridden a bull, the conclusion has been that the injuries must have been sustained from getting closer to wild animals during hunting because they had inferior weapons that put them are great risk of large wild animals (Gore Par.2). For instance, Thomas Berger and Erick Trinkaus paleoanthropologists noted in 1995 that Neanderthal had many uneven injuries on their necks and head. A similar pattern of injuries has been found with rodeo riders. They concluded that just as the rodeo riders get closer and personal to hungry bulls and horses, the hunting style of the Neanderthal involved sneaking closer to the wild animals before jabbing them with spears made of inferior weapons. Other recent findings have showed that Neanderthal suffered a lot of head injuries thought to have been blown by a sharp horn thought to have been from the horns of a wild animal (Trinkaus 142). The rodeo riders are people who engage in bull riding and most of these bulls are angry and dangerous, which sometimes fight them off as the cowboys climb their back. What happens is that the cowboys first draw closer and personal to the bulls in order to be able to climb. More than often the cowboys get thrown away by the bulls, which then follow them angrily with their hones. Those who are unlucky always end up being hit and blown by the sharp hones of these bulls ending up suffering head, and neck injuries. Others who fall of the ground sometimes get stepped on resulting in back injuries and other parts of the body (Trinkaus 142). Such similar injury patters have been discovered with the Neanderthal. Moreover, just as much as the rodeo riders tend to suffer from broken bones after being attacked by the angry bulls, the remains of Neanderthal have shown signs of broken bones and other traumas. Analysis has revealed scar from surface injuries implies there might have been a cut (Trinkaus 142). Just outside the socket of Neanderthal’s left eye shows that it must have been blown using a sharp object according to Trinkaus (143). This is because this part appear completely collapsed resulting into a flat surface instead of a rounded contour as could be expected. The injuries are thought to have caused even lose of eyesight as has been the case with some rodeo riders. The injuries sustained by the Neanderthals and rodeo riders have a lot of significance as far as human behavior is concerned. Firstly, the injuries show how human beings are always ready to take risks for things they believe are capable of bringing benefits in their lives. For instance, the injuries sustained by the Neanderthal are thought to have resulted from the risks they faced during hunting just to obtain their daily meal despite their inferior techniques of hunting (Knight Par.2). Evidence show that some of the weapons that the Neanderthals used for hunting were short which implied that they had to draw closer to the animals before jabbing them with force (Knight Par.2). Nevertheless, since some of these weapons were very inferior and could not make a kill on the spot especially for the large mammals, this ended up putting their lives at great risk of attack by the mammals which ended up attacking them in the process resulting in injuries and sometimes death. This is quite similar with humans who sometimes engages in a risky venture in a bid to realize their goals. For instance, the rodeo riders are people who are quite aware of the risks that they are putting themselves in riding the angry bulls, but still continues despite the risk in a bid to become champions or famous in the society. In fact, one may sometimes wonder why the cowboys participates in such a dangerous and deadly game. This is because the riders always persist and make all effort possible just to ride the rodeos even after sustain injuries. This certainly shows that human being are just risk takers. The injuries are also a clear indication that hunting began a long time ago thus not a modern activity. There are quite a number of people whose livelihood is still based on hunting and gathering most of which are found in Africa. The Thoisans, Hunters and Tuaregs of North Africa are a community, which still depend much on hunting as a source of their livelihood. Like the Neanderthals, they hunt using inferior tools, which sometime exposed them to risk of attack by wild animals (Trinkaus, Par.5). There are also reports showing that some of these people also end up suffering injuries similar to those thought to have been sustained by the Neanderthals. It is also noted that both humans and Neanderthals. Therefore, the injuries are a clear indication that be habit of hunting is not a new thing, but dates back to the Neanderthals days. Research reveals that the Neanderthals were very caring people. This is because they ensured that once someone among them is injured, the rest took care of the person by administering treatments. This has been cited because of the healing scars that have been found on the remains of the species. It is also thought that if these species could not have been caring, then the broken bones could not have healed (Hays Par.8). This is similar to the modern human behavior that will in most cases make all efforts aimed at saving the life of the injured whether in war, or just because of disease. It is quite rare to find a normal human being leavving their colleague to suffer after getting injured. This shows that the caring habit did evolved long time ago. The injuries also shows that Neanderthals met a lot of violence either from the animals they hunted or just among themselves. This has been seen from evidence of head injuries that these people sustain according to Wayman (Par.2). The same is true of modern human being who sometimes encounter a lot of violence among themselves or during the war. There are even countries, which are currently facing animosity and violence. Some human being also like engaging in violent behaviors by causing injuries on others like was inflicted on the Neanderthals. This implies that the violent behaviors of human nature began a long time ago and should not be seen as a modern issue. Conclusion The origin of man dates back to several centuries ago when a discovery was made showing that human beings originated from Africa. Certainly, no one thought that there could have been another species in the world like the Homo sapiens, until the discovery of the remains of Neanderthals in a cave, in Germany. Research did indicate that it was the closest species to the modern human beings. Despite being extinct, the study of this species especially what might have caused its extinction has helped a great deal in the study of the evolution of human behavior. This is after analysis conducted on the remains showed that the species must have sustained a lot of injuries, which probably led to its extinction. The injuries have showed a close resemblance to those sustained by rodeo riders. This is because like the head and neck injuries suffered by rodeo riders Neanderthals remains also show that the species suffered from a similar injury pattern. These injuries are particularly thought to have been sustained from the wild animals during hunting since they had inferior weapons, which put them at danger of being attacked by large wild animals with hones. These injuries have been significance to human behaviors since they point why people behave the way they do. This can be seen through hunting, caring, violence and other forms of behaviors in the society. Work Cited Gore R. Fossil Hominids: Neandertal injuries. n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/rodeo.html Hays, Jeffrey. Neanderthal Society Neanderthal Tools, Culture, Food And Hunting. N.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.http://factsanddetails.com/world.php?itemid=1475&catid=56&subcatid=361 Henry, Donald O. Neanderthals in the Levant: Behavioral Organization and the Beginnings of Human Modernity. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group. 2003. Print. Knight, Will. Neanderthal man was "armed and dangerous". 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2198-neanderthal-man-was-armed-and-dangerous.html Millars, Paul. The Neanderthal Legacy: An Archaeological Perspective of Western Europe. Princeton, NY: Princeton University Press. 1996 Print. Mithen, Steven J. The singing Neanderthals: the origins of music, language, mind and body. Boston: Harvard University Press. 2005 Print. Stefoff, Rebecca. Ice Age Neanderthals. Tarytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish. 2009 Print. Trinkaus, Ekrik. Hard Times Among the Neanderthals. Article 28. Pp.140-145. Trinkaus, Erik. Neandertals, early modern humans, and rodeo riders. Journal of Archaeological Science. Print. Wayman, Erin. Hominid Hunting. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/hominids/2012/07/neanderthals-werent-stone-age-rodeo-riders/ Read More