Does anybody knoe what neanderthals were? why they lived with men but no recorded interaction?

Answer 1

Neanderthals were fully human.

Answer 2

Have you heard of Prehistory? The were living at that time when only then had a cultutre and relgious society had started to form. and no Neanderthals were not smart enough to write language so they left their mark with cave paintings. But neanderthals didnt live with humans but with homo sapien which was a mmore human like smarter earlier form of a human.

Answer 3

Neanderthals were a breed of human known scientifically as Homo Neanderthalensis.

For a long time - and some of the answers here continue to play to that prejudice - it was presumed that Neanderthals were a "primitive" or "less evolved" hominid. This is in part because Neanderthals were the first fossil humans we discovered, and a bit of Victorian triumphalism became permanently embossed on our first paleontological encounter with them - 'we're here, they're not, we must have outwitted them,' we tend to think.

However, recent evidence suggests that Neanderthals were an alternate form of human - a population that evolved independently from Homo Erectus, but which resulted in a different kind of human being. Neanderthals were smart, there's no doubt about that. They buried their dead, they made jewellry, and they made stone tools using the Lavallois flaking technique that few people of today could master.

The discovery of a fully modern-looking Hyoid bone (throat bone), several regions of their brains devoted to speech, and the right neurological equipment to operate the tongue and ears in the same way we do suggests that Neanderthals had language abilities comparable to our own. They had larger brains than we do. They made flutes, carved stone masks, and varied their hunts seasonally in a way that suggests they were intimately acquainted with their prey and passed on their knowledge culturally.

In every way - every way except one- they appear to have been our equals.

There is one notable exception. Early in the history of Homo Sapiens Sapiens in Africa (and this they carried with them), Sapiens began to show signs of gathering in larger groups and exchanging culture and trade. For instance, modern humans would be in possession of stone tools that were made from rocks quarried dozens of miles outside their range. Modern humans appear to have developed the ability to socialize not just in their small clan, but also in larger groups - they had developed a sense of "nationhood."

Neanderthals don't exhibit this in the fossil record. This may be why Cro Magnon technology and culture seemed to expand by leaps and bounds starting 35,000 years ago, while Neanderthals stayed culturally conservative for their 200,000 year run - a larger pool of knowledge exchange results in faster change.

Shortly before leaving the Earth, the Neanderthals appeared to show some signs of adapting to this - Neanderthals began to make tools like their modern counterparts (their adaptation of it is called Chattelperonian)... so it seems they began to trade knowledge and communicate with our kind... but by this time it was too late. They were gone a thousand years later.

The fact that our ancestors taught their people how to make better stone tools is a poignant testimony to a time when two human species shared the Earth, spoke to one another, and taught one another things. It would be neat to be able to be a fly on the wall to see our ancestors interacting with the Neanderthals - which thanks to the Chattelperonian tool technologies, we know they did.

Answer 4

Neanderthals were a cold-adapated race of primitive humans who lived in Europe during the Ice Age up to about 30000 years ago. It is unlikely that they mingled with or made babies with the decendents of the people alive today.

The people alive today share a common ancestor who probably lived near the southeastern coast of Africa about 180000 years ago. A group of them left Africa about 80000 years ago. They made it into Europe about 50000 years ago. Thus, between 50000 and 30000 years ago, modern-looking people and primitive Neantherthals might have met.

But because groups of people were so tiny back then and because the earth was so sparsely populated, its unlikely that they ever bumped into each other. If they did, perhaps European legends about trolls and goblins and gnomes and other little people comprise left over tales of seeing Neanderthals from a distance.

Answer 5

The neandertals (not neanderthals) were actually a sub-species of Homo sapiens like us, but we came later. There was intraction between us and them, but it is not known if that interaction was peaceful, or violent. Whatever happened we came out on top, because we had our voiceboxes lower in our throats, allowing us to speak more efficiently.

Answer 6

Some very good answers here, especially admiralbob's. There are indeed recorded interactions between Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens - these records are archaeological, because writing had not been invented yet - especially fossilised bones of the two species found together. If you're interested in learning more, check out these sites -
http://www.becominghuman.org/
http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/projects/human/
Have fun!