Introduction
We; the modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) in this extant form have been inferred to have evolved over time from some weird-looking hominid species. But some of these hominid species have close resemblances with the modern human. Closely related to man is our very close cousin; the Neanderthal – which some have mistakenly assumed to have been our direct parents. But new findings have debunked that mentality, because of the fact that both the Homo sapiens and the Neanderthals co-existed; so it would be practically impossible for them to have evolved into us. Here, we will look at how close these species were related to us, and also in what areas they were different from us – don’t talk about beauty, because they were beautiful in their own eyes, and may even be finer than you; yes you, lol.
[Neanderthal. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: Stefan Scheer. CC BY-SA 3.0 Licensed]
Just a quick tip to reiterate a fact to you: The Neanderthal is also called the Homo neanderthalensis (or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis), so by definition, they were the subspecies of the genus; “Homo sapiens” (thinking man). But they are not the only subspecies of the Homo sapiens – we have the Homo sapiens Idaltu (Herto man), Homo sapiens samminator Homo sapiens sapiens (the modern humans), Homo sapiens balangodensis, et al. But we’re not concerned about those guys, but the Neanderthals, because of our obvious resemblances. But before I continue, it is worthy to state here that the concept of evolution is one of the most theorized aspects of science, and this is directly related to the fact that we are majorly left with fragments of fossils to make judgement with, and none of us lived to witness these evolutionary processes.
This being said, it should also be noted that the first appearance of the subspecies of the Homo sapiens can be dated back to about 200,000 years ago [ref] – and that marked the beginning of our direct family tree; but the Neanderthals had appeared prior to that era. But yeah!! They didn’t make it to through to brace the finish line, but we did. So wassup with those species in comparison to us? Let’s take some detailed points here.
Our brain vs their brain
The human species has been considered as one of the species with the biggest brains in comparison to the body size and structure. Even down the line from our ancestral grandpas, the brain volume has been a major distinguishing factor. Take for example; way down the line; the Australopithecus had a much smaller brain volume, which was roughly about half the size of the modern man. No wonder they were extremely primitive. But on going up the line to the pithecanthropus, the brain gained some mass, and that was how the brain started increasing in size, and man started picking up other abilities - Like the Homo habilis had the ability of the usage of tools (that is also why the “habilis” sufficed the name). Then the later species; Homo erectus had the ability and features of uprightness and a more coordinated bipedalism (that is why the “erectus” sufficed the name).
In all these, none had as much brain size as the modern humans (or maybe that’s what we were made to believe). But a very recent study on the fossils of Neanderthals has indicated they had as much brain size as the Homo sapiens, and even larger [ref] – yes you heard me right; they had a slightly larger brain size. And this could explain the reason they had use of some very complex and outstandingly advanced tool kits; of which some of them are even available up to this time.
Not only this, they have also been inferred to have some similar thoughts just like us – how weird!! Maybe this image down below would give you a little insight. These were the exhumed pieces of the fossils of the Neanderthals, and more shocking is the fact that they appeared like that (lying in state) when exhumed. That means they were actually buried (and some had grave markings) – what idea does this give you? Obviously, they had believed in some sort of “afterlife”.
[Image Source: Screenshot From YouTube Video. Author: Epic History. 3:15minutes from start]
Now this is getting weirder right? So why didn’t they endure the evolutionary cruelty, but just disappeared into oblivion? You’ll find out shortly. You can remember that I mentioned in my last science post that the brain of the extant modern humans has been dwindling with the advances in technology, which led to our over-reliance on mechanical and electronic aids. That means, surviving through evolution is not necessarily dependent on the brain size; if it was; then the Neanderthals would have made it through, not us. But before we talk about how they disappeared, let’s also see another comparison between us and the Neanderthals.
Comparison in physical size and strength
When you look at the muscles and body framework of Arnold Schwarzenegger, you’d feel intimidated right? But what if I tell you that an entire species had that kind of muscles, would you believe me? From their fossils exhumed, it was discovered that the Neanderthals had much denser bones than us, which could also mean they’re more muscular and robust than us (though with an almost equal height on the average). That means, they were actually physically stronger than the average humans [ref], and wouldn’t hesitate for one second to kick our asses badly if we engage with them in a fist combat.
[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: Photaro. CC BY-SA 3.0 Licensed]
Even judging from their skeletal framework, there’s a suggestion that they have a slightly lower centre of gravity (as indicated from their pelvic bones), and a larger femur bones, which would give them more balance for a physical combat. But another truth is; if physicality and strength was a major consideration for surviving through evolution, then they would have made it through, and maybe not us.
So how did we survive?
It has been an almost herculean task to state categorically why the sapiens made it through to the finish line, but the Neanderthals dropped on the way. First of all, humans had been known to be agile right from time, and this agility is very much needed for more adaptability, which also could give humans an edge over the Neanderthals. Remember Charles Darwin’s theory of “survival of the best fitted” – which proposes that nature would only select the species that have favorable adaptative features, and the rest can go to hell.
Also, adding up to the edge of the sapiens is the fact that they incorporated a division-of-labour kind of approach to life, which the Neanderthals clearly lacked [ref] – and this could explain why we grew more adaptative features over the Neanderthals that were straitjacketed to performing just a single monotonous task. Though some have argued that the disappearance of the Neanderthals can be linked to the crossbreeding of the Neanderthals and sapiens; but I would definitely challenge the assertion. No doubt, we may have crossbred with the Neanderthals; as it has been proven that some people walking the face of the earth today have some traces of Neanderthals’ genome; but that would not lead to the extinction of a whole species – nice try though, but you need to come up with another excuse.
Some have also given some witty remarks that some natural disasters or catastrophe came and cleared off the Neanderthals, but who believes this story? Why would the natural disaster just arrive and part away with just a species while leaving another? – And remember the sapiens co-existed with the Neanderthals; so how is it possible for the catastrophe to selectively kill only the Neanderthals?
Some researchers also queried some kind of pathogen as what took away the Neanderthals – well, this looks truer than the catastrophe shit. Because, it could be possible that the sapiens may have grown a certain level of immunity to ward off an epidemic, but the Neanderthals couldn’t. Or maybe the sapiens were actually the host to the pathogens, but they were relatively not affected by it – and since they stayed together with the Neanderthals, they can easily distribute it to them, and they’ll be massively obliterated.
But there’s also a school of thought; particularly the one proposed by a renowned paleontologist and radiocarbon scientist; Tom Higham (from the Oxford University), that the Neanderthals might not have been extinct, but may have been completely crossed or merged (or rather; assimilated) into the sapiens' subspecies. And to buttress this point, some people have shown more resemblance in genetic materials to the Neanderthals than others in this present time – and this could provide a near-to-believable answer to the question of “where the Neanderthals went to”. But in all these; as more sites are being excavated, and more transitional fossils are discovered, the gap would be bridged, and the answers would be unraveled. But in the mean time, you that is reading this post could even be a direct descendant of the Neanderthals in this present time, lol.
Conclusion
The mystery of “what happened to the Neanderthals” has become an age-long hard nut to crack. But it looks like we’re getting closer to unraveling this mystery. With the aid of fossil study, sooner than we think, we could have a definitive answer right before us.
Thanks for reading
References for further reading:
- The appearance of the early modern Homo sapiens
- Comparison of the brain of Homo neanderthalensis and the sapiens
- humanorigins- the evidences of human fossils
- The nature and adaptation of the Neanderthals
- Delson Eric, Harvati Katerina, 2006. Return of the last Neanderthal. A Palaeoanthropological review
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