how do we justify scientifically thatHomo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthals are seperate species?

Answer 1

Erectus- walked upright. Homo Heidelbergensis- mated for life

Neanderthals are NOT REAL species...just theroy...no proof

Answer 2

With Neanderthal, we actually have DNA. The DNA indicates that it was a separate species since certain human markers are not there. Heidelbergensis is sometimes considered the same species, just older. Heidelbergensis is supposedly ancestral to both Neanderthal and us. It is somewhat arbitrary where you draw the line with species. I favor a separate species identification for Heidelbergensis. Erectus was the supposed ancestor for Heidelbergensis. It is significantly different from humans and certainly should be classified as a separate species. Some erectus may have been our ancestor as well as ancestor to Heidelbergensis but Erecutus is more of a broad category than the the others. It sometimes includes a very diverse group, none of which should be considered in our species. The main reason is that they are different enough that they probably wouldn't produce a viable offspring, though that is pretty speculative.

Answer 3

Well of course, the species lines in paleoanthropology are always up for debate. That said, there are some differences, and some of them appear to be quite profound.

Neanderthal man appears to have a speech apparatus as advanced as that of Homo Sapiens - all the key indicators are there - a larger brain than Homo Sapiens with an advanced Broca's area, the typically large hypoglossal canal that suggests the advanced breathing and tongue control that we also have, and a modern hyoid bone.

Also, Neanderthal man seems to have some specialized features not present in any other hominid. There is the characteristic occipital bun, I would note.

There are indications other than morphology that suggest very different kinds of behaviours. A very interesting factor is the discovery that Neanderthals made a tar out of Birch pitch in the Harz mountains. This is an extremely specialized skill that would not reappear until the Neolithic - it is that advanced. It requires the craftsman to heat birch pitch to an exacting temperature in an anaerobic setting; what they did is so clever, we're not actually sure how they did it.

No behaviour that advanced is known in any earlier species of man.

Now - as to Homo Erectus, there are some indications that they were pretty sharp too, for example seafaring on rafts in Indonesia. Nonetheless, their remains are only ocassionally associated with controlled fire. The hypoglossal canal is smaller, more apelike in Erectus, indicating that the advanced breathing control of a modern human had not yet come. What speech they had would have been far less nuanced and variable. The brains, although ocassionally meandering into the modern human range, were generally only 2/3 the size of ours.

There are differences - difference enough to suggest we are talking a different species here.

As to Heidelbergensis, the many specific adaptations of the Neanderthals had not yet come... pronounced mid-face, low cranial vault, cold-adaptation morphology. They are the classic example of a before and after species where the Neanderthal specializations are concerned.

Answer 4

Different skeletal structures and features. H. erectus and H. heidelbergensis are both smaller than H. Neanderthalensis, which is much more robust.

These classifications are extremely difficult, however, and continue to be a matter of debate among experts, especially with some of the earlier species. We'd need fossils of more individuals, and entire skeletons rather than just parts. Unfortunately, we don't have much of that (which, obviously, is why Lucy was such a big find...because she was WHOLE).

Answer 5

Well, morphological differences - that is, differences in the physical features of their remains - as well as geographical and chronological separation have pretty much guaranteed that H. neanderthalensis is a separate species from H. erectus and H. heidelbergensis. Neanderthalensis is more robust than either of the other two species; H. neanderthalensis was a species that originated in Europe; H. neanderthalensis is a more recent species than either heidelbergensis or erectus. The earliest examples of neanderthalensis are from Europe, and more recent specimens have been found as far south as Israel. Erectus, we are pretty sure, never made it into northern Europe.

The situation with heidelbergensis and erectus is a little bit more iffy, however: H. heidelbergensis was initially identified from a fragment found in Europe waaay back in . . . I don't remember when offhand, but it was the late 19th century. And then that piece sat on a shelf for decades and was forgotten. The taxon H. heidelbergensis was reintroduced in the Eighties to help account for the differences in cranial structure found between older African H. erectus fossils and more recent ones. Since then, many of the more recent African H. erectus fossils have been re-categorized as heidelbergensis, and the taxon has swallowed up numerous unclassified or idiosyncratic fossils found in Europe, specimens which had previoulsy been identified as transitory specimens. Nevertheless, many African specimens are only tenuously identified as belonging to either heidelbergensis or erectus.

Generally, H. erectus was considerably more prognathic than the other two species, with older specimens restricted to East Africa and more recent specimens found as far away as Southeast Asia. H. heidelbergensis evolved in Africa and migrated northward. It is not known from Asia. It is more gracile than erectus, demonstrates less prognathism, and a slightly different dental structure. H. neanderthalensis probably evolved from heidelbergensis populations that migrated northward into Europe (whereas our species, H. sapiens evolved from H. heidelbergensis populations that remained in Africa and outcompeted the remaining African erectus populations). Neanderthalensis is more robust that heidelbergensis, as it is adapted to cold-weather climates; it has a greater cranial capacity than either of the other two; and it is, as I said, mostly restricted to Europe and the Middle East.

Answer 6

very basic answer, but what my 6th grade teacher taught us. Homo Erectus- walked upright. Homo Heidelbergensis- mated for life , and neanderthals used tools and built shelters.

Answer 7

Usually by skellital make-up. different species of all genuses will have distinct bone structure that can differentiate them from the other species or, in the case of human, other races.

Answer 8

From their we remains, we could tell that they were different species. The bones themselves differ in size, especially their skulls, which shows their brain capacity. The things they left behind also show their intelligence.