Neanderthals' place in the lineage of modern human..?

Question

Does someone know more about past human life help me!!??
Explain Neanderthals' place in the lineage of modern human based on the available evidence for their placement.

thank you soo much~~(L)

Answer 1

Neanderthals are thought to be a human sub-species. Meaning that they are close enough to us to be considered in the species of human (homo neanderthalis) but are not a direct ancestor. They are a "branch," if you will. This is based on current genetic and archaeological evidence, though it is interesting to note that a group of geneticists are currently working on breaking the neanderthal gene code, and this will provide a lot more information about the Neanderthals place on the human family tree.

Answer 2

. The experts cannot agree. The poeple who have studied this the most and should come closest to being able to anwser your question are locked in a heated debate which is characterized as much by emotion as by reason. They think they are being utterly logical, but an outsider can tell by the tone of their rhetoric that there is a lot of emotion involved in their postions.
. Some point to differences in DNA and say that it is not possible that Cro-Magnon and Neandertahl interbred. Others see that same DNA evidence and see enough similarity that they think that it proves that they two did conjugate. In fact, it is not even possible to tell from the DNA which can be extracted how many chromosomes Neanderthal had.
. There is a gene which is much more common in Europeans than in Africans which helps to regulate the rate at which the brain grows. It does not appear, based on fossil skulls, that this gene existed in ealry homo-sapiens prior to their having come into contact with Neanderthal.
. Some look at morphological features and see characteristics which did not appear in one group or the other prior to their meeting. Others see these shared characteristics as 'convergence'; when two separate species independently evolve similar features.
. Personally, I am confident that the two got conjugal when they ran into each other. Modern man has coupled with much less human looking things than Neanderthals. Whether such an act could have produced viable off spring simply cannot be answered at this time. except that I have some cousins who... well never mind. That's a family secret.

Answer 3

Neanderthals inhabited Europe and western Asia in the late Pleistocene about 200,000 to 30,000 years ago. Neanderthals and Homo sapiens are very similar anatomically -- it was believed that Neanderthals are not even a separate species from modern humans, but that the two forms were classified into two subspecies: Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens sapiens. Many scientists believe in the two-species hypothesis. According to scientists, Neanderthals represent a very close evolutionary relative of modern humans.

Answer 4

The following is a list of physical traits that distinguish Neanderthals from modern humans; however, not all of them can be used to distinguish specific Neanderthal populations, from various geographic areas or periods of evolution, from other extinct humans. Also, many of these traits occasionally manifest in modern humans, particularly among certain ethnic groups. Nothing is known about the skin color, the hair, or the shape of soft parts such as eyes, ears, and lips of Neanderthals.

Compared to modern humans, Neanderthals were shorter in size and had distinct morphological features, especially of the cranium, which gradually accumulated more derived aspects, particularly in certain relatively isolated geographic regions. Evidence suggests that they were much stronger than modern humans; their relatively robust stature is thought to be an adaptation to the cold climate of Europe during the Pleistocene epoch.

Neanderthal physical traits Cranial Sub-cranial
Suprainiac fossa, a groove above the inion Considerably more robust
Occipital bun, a protuberance of the occipital bone that looks like a hair knot Large round finger tips
Projecting mid-face Barrel-shaped rib cage
Low, flat, elongated skull Large kneecaps
A flat basic cranium Long collar bones
Supraorbital torus, a prominent browridge Short, bowed shoulder blades
1200-1750 cm³ skull capacity (10% greater than modern human average) Thick, bowed shaft of the thigh bones
Lack of a protruding chin (mental protuberance; although later specimens possess a slight protuberance) Short shinbones and calf bones
Crest on the mastoid process behind the ear opening Long, gracile pelvic pubis (superior pubic ramus)
No groove on canine teeth
A retromolar space posterior to the third molar
Bony projections on the sides of the nasal opening
Distinctive shape of the bony labyrinth in the ear
Larger mental foramen in mandible for facial blood supply
A broad, projecting nose

Based on a 2001 study, some commentators speculated that Neanderthals exhibited rufosity, and that some red-headed and freckled humans today share some heritage with Neanderthals;[ however, many other researchers disagree.

Answer 5

Homo-erectus migrated to Europe and evolved into Neanderthal about 200,000 year ago. Those that stayed in Africa, evolved into us. We've been modern humans for about 120,000 years. Some of Erectus migrated to Asia and lasted quite a while. Modern humans, or Homo sapians, met both Neanderthals and Homo erectus .

Answer 6

Many scientists classify Neanderthal as its own species (H. neandertalensis), pointing to the large number of anatomical differences between it and H. sapiens.

Anatomically Neanderthals were somewhat shorter but much more robust than contemporary H. sapiens. Distinctive cranial features of Neanderthals included prominent brow ridges, low, sloping foreheads, a chinless and heavy, forward-jutting jaw, and extremely large front teeth.

MY DEAR QUESTIONER this is all useless garbage. There was Adam and Eve and we all came from them, notice many scientist classify........it means there are many who do not subscribe to this theory. This was all invented to make us go sit in trees and celebrate WOODSTOCK. We discovered DRUGS has harmful effects in WOODSTOCK and nothing more came out of all that SYNERGIES. GIVE IT UP....to be calm by yourself, are we humans versions of SOFTWARE to UPGRADE from lower beings to something else. HEHEE laughable, how gullible we are to have repeated this belief, even though CHURCH was dead against it.

Answer 7

sooo creepy, Im doing a paper on this right now...

depending on who you ask, their place is pretty unclear... basically, nobody can prove 100% that they were a seperate species than us, and nobody can prove 100% they were the same species.. we DO know for sure that Neandertals and Homo sapiens lived in the same area (Europe) for several thousand years during the late Pleistocene...

so right now, its up for debate, although people on each side are pretty sure they are right.. lol