Back Neanderdaller Afrikaans Neandertaler ALS نياندرتال Arabic نياندرطال ARY Homo neanderthalensis AST Neandertal insanı Azerbaijani نئاندرتال AZB Neandertaler BAR Neandertal BCL Неандэрталец Byelorussian

Neanderthal

For other uses, see Neanderthal (disambiguation).
For Neanderthals and other related species in popular culture, see Caveman.

Neanderthal
Temporal range: Middle to Late Pleistocene
Slightly angled head-on view of a Neanderthal skeleton, stepping forward with the left leg
An approximate reconstruction of a Neanderthal skeleton. The central rib-cage (including the sternum) and parts of the pelvis are from modern humans.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Hominini
Genus: Homo
Species:
†H. neanderthalensis
Binomial name
†Homo neanderthalensis
King, 1864
Stretching across all of Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, England, southern Germany and Austria, all of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, the Peloponnesian Peninsula, the Crimean peninsula, the Black Sea–Caspian Steppe west of the Caucasus, southern Turkey, northern Syria, the Levant, northern Iraq spilling over into Iran, the east end of Uzbekistan, and in Russia just northeast of Kazakhstan
Known Neanderthal range in Europe (blue), Southwest Asia (orange), Uzbekistan (green), and the Altai Mountains (violet)
Synonyms[6]
Homo
    • H. stupidus
      Haeckel, 1895[1]
    • H. europaeus primigenius
      Wilser, 1898
    • H. primigenius
      Schwalbe, 1906[2]
    • H. antiquus
      Adloff, 1908
    • H. transprimigenius mousteriensis
      Farrer, 1908
    • H. mousteriensis hauseri
      Klaatsch 1909[3][4]
    • H. priscus
      Krause, 1909
    • H. chapellensis
      von Buttel-Reepen, 1911
    • H. calpicus
      Keith, 1911
    • H. acheulensis moustieri
      Wiegers, 1915
    • H. lemousteriensis
      Wiegers, 1915
    • H. naulettensis
      Baudouin, 1916
    • H. sapiens neanderthalensis
      Kleinshmidt, 1922
    • H. heringsdorfensis
      Werthe, 1928
    • H. galilensis
      Joleaud, 1931
    • H. primigenius galilaeensis
      Sklerj, 1937
    • H. kiikobiensis
      Bontsch-Osmolovskii, 1940
    • H. sapiens krapinensis
      Campbell, 1962
    • H. erectus mapaensis
      Kurth, 1965
Palaeoanthropus
Protanthropus
    • P. atavus
      Haeckel, 1895
    • P. tabunensis
      Bonarelli, 1944
Acanthropus
    • A. neanderthalensis
      Arldt, 1915
    • A. primigenius
      Abel, 1920
    • A. neanderthalensis
      Dawkins, 1926

Neanderthals (/niˈændərˌtɑːl, neɪ-, -ˌθɑːl/ nee-AN-də(r)-TAHL, nay-, -⁠THAHL;[7] Homo neanderthalensis or H. sapiens neanderthalensis) are an extinct group of archaic humans (generally regarded as a distinct species, though some regard it as a subspecies of Homo sapiens) who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago.[8][9][10][11] The type specimen, Neanderthal 1, was found in 1856 in the Neander Valley in present-day Germany.

It is not clear when the line of Neanderthals split from that of modern humans; studies have produced various times ranging from 315,000[12] to more than 800,000 years ago.[13] The date of divergence of Neanderthals from their ancestor H. heidelbergensis is also unclear. The oldest potential Neanderthal bones date to 430,000 years ago, but the classification remains uncertain.[14] Neanderthals are known from numerous fossils, especially from after 130,000 years ago.[15]

The reasons for Neanderthal extinction are disputed.[16][17] Theories for their extinction include demographic factors such as small population size and inbreeding, competitive replacement,[18] interbreeding and assimilation with modern humans,[19] change of climate,[20][21][22] disease,[23][24] or a combination of these factors.[22] Neanderthals lived in a high-stress environment with high trauma rates, and about 80% died before the age of 40.[25] The total population of Neanderthals remained low, and interbreeding with humans tended toward a loss of Neanderthal genes over time.[26] They lacked effective long-distance networks. Despite this, there is evidence of regional cultures and regular communication between communities,[27][28] possibly moving between caves seasonally.[29]

For much of the early 20th century, European researchers depicted Neanderthals as primitive, unintelligent and brutish. Although knowledge and perception of them has markedly changed since then in the scientific community, the image of the unevolved caveman archetype remains prevalent in popular culture.[30][31] In truth, Neanderthal technology was quite sophisticated. It includes the Mousterian stone-tool industry[32][33] as well as the abilities to create fire,[34][35] build cave hearths[36][37] (to cook food, keep warm, defend themselves from animals, placing it at the centre of their homes),[38] make adhesive birch bark tar,[39] craft at least simple clothes similar to blankets and ponchos,[40] weave,[41] go seafaring through the Mediterranean,[42][43] make use of medicinal plants,[44][45][46] treat severe injuries,[47] store food,[48] and use various cooking techniques such as roasting, boiling,[49] and smoking.[50]

Neanderthals consumed a wide array of food, mainly hoofed mammals,[51] but also megafauna,[30][52] plants,[53][54][55] small mammals, birds, and aquatic and marine resources.[56] Although they were probably apex predators, they still competed with cave lions, cave hyenas and other large predators.[57] A number of examples of symbolic thought and Palaeolithic art have been inconclusively[58] attributed to Neanderthals, namely possible ornaments made from bird claws and feathers,[59][60] shells,[61] collections of unusual objects including crystals and fossils,[62] engravings,[63] music production (possibly indicated by the Divje Babe flute),[64] and Spanish cave paintings contentiously[65] dated to before 65,000 years ago.[66][67] Some claims of religious beliefs have been made.[68] Neanderthals were likely capable of speech, possibly articulate, although the complexity of their language is not known.[69][70]

Compared with modern humans, Neanderthals had a more robust build and proportionally shorter limbs. Researchers often explain these features as adaptations to conserve heat in a cold climate, but they may also have been adaptations for sprinting in the warmer, forested landscape that Neanderthals often inhabited.[71] They had cold-specific adaptations, such as specialised body-fat storage[72] and an enlarged nose to warm air[73] (although the nose could have been caused by genetic drift[74]). Average Neanderthal men stood around 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) and women 153 cm (5 ft 0 in) tall, similar to pre-industrial modern Europeans.[75] The braincases of Neanderthal men and women averaged about 1,600 cm3 (98 cu in) and 1,300 cm3 (79 cu in), respectively,[76][77][78] which is considerably larger than the modern human average (1,260 cm3 (77 cu in) and 1,130 cm3 (69 cu in), respectively).[79] The Neanderthal skull was more elongated and the brain had smaller parietal lobes[80][81][82] and cerebellum,[83][84] but larger temporal, occipital and orbitofrontal regions.[85][86]

The 2010 Neanderthal genome project's draft report presented evidence for interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans.[87][88][89] It possibly occurred 316,000 to 219,000 years ago,[90] but more likely 100,000 years ago and again 65,000 years ago.[91] Neanderthals also appear to have interbred with Denisovans, a different group of archaic humans, in Siberia.[92][93] Around 1–4% of genomes of Eurasians, Indigenous Australians, Melanesians, Native Americans and North Africans is of Neanderthal ancestry, while most inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa have around 0.3% of Neanderthal genes, save possible traces from early sapiens-to-Neanderthal gene flow and/or more recent back-migration of Eurasians to Africa. In all, about 20% of distinctly Neanderthal gene variants survive in modern humans.[94] Although many of the gene variants inherited from Neanderthals may have been detrimental and selected out,[26] Neanderthal introgression appears to have affected the modern human immune system,[95][96][97][98] and is also implicated in several other biological functions and structures,[99] but a large portion appears to be non-coding DNA.[100]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference haeckel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Schwalbe, G. (1906). Studien zur Vorgeschichte des Menschen [Studies on the pre-history of man] (in German). Stuttgart, E. Nägele. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.61918. hdl:2027/uc1.b4298459.
  3. ^ Klaatsch, H. (1909). "Preuves que l'Homo Mousteriensis Hauseri appartient au type de Neandertal" [Evidence that Homo Mousteriensis Hauseri belongs to the Neanderthal type]. L'Homme Préhistorique (in French). 7: 10–16.
  4. ^ Romeo, L. (1979). Ecce Homo!: a lexicon of man. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 92. ISBN 978-90-272-2006-6.
  5. ^ a b c d e McCown, T.; Keith, A. (1939). The stone age of Mount Carmel. The fossil human remains from the Levalloisso-Mousterian. Vol. 2. Clarenden Press.
  6. ^ Szalay, F. S.; Delson, E. (2013). Evolutionary history of the Primates. Academic Press. p. 508. ISBN 978-1-4832-8925-0.
  7. ^ Wells, J. (2008). Longman pronunciation dictionary (3rd ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference higham2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference higham2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference pinhasi2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference galvan2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference stringer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference gomez2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference meyer2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference klein1983 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Vaesen, Krist; Dusseldorp, Gerrit L.; Brandt, Mark J. (2021). "An emerging consensus in palaeoanthropology: Demography was the main factor responsible for the disappearance of Neanderthals". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 4925. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.4925V. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-84410-7. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7921565. PMID 33649483.
  17. ^ Vaesen, Krist; Dusseldorp, Gerrit L.; Brandt, Mark J. (2021). "Author correction: 'An Emerging Consensus in Palaeoanthropology: Demography Was the Main Factor Responsible for the Disappearance of Neanderthals'". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 8450. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.8450V. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88189-5. PMC 8044239. PMID 33850254. S2CID 233232999.
  18. ^ Wynn, Thomas; Overmann, Karenleigh A; Coolidge, Frederick L (2016). "The false dichotomy: A refutation of the Neandertal indistinguishability claim". Journal of Anthropological Sciences. 94 (94): 201–221. doi:10.4436/jass.94022 (inactive November 2, 2024). PMID 26708102. S2CID 15817439.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Villa2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference bradtmoller2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference wolf2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference black2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference underdown2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference sullivan2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference trinkaus1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference juric was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ruebens2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fabre2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference Demay2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ a b Papagianni & Morse 2013.
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference drell2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shaw1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lycett2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ Sorensen, A. C.; Claud, E.; Soressi, M. (2018). "Neandertal fire-making technology inferred from microwear analysis". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 10065. Bibcode:2018NatSR...810065S. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28342-9. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6053370. PMID 30026576.
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brittingham2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference hayden2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ Cite error: The named reference kedar2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ^ Angelucci, Diego E.; Nabais, Mariana; Zilhão, João (2023). "Formation processes, fire use, and patterns of human occupation across the Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 5a-5b) of Gruta da Oliveira (Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal)". PLOS ONE. 18 (10): e0292075. Bibcode:2023PLoSO..1892075A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0292075. PMC 10566745. PMID 37819902.
  39. ^ Cite error: The named reference schmidt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  40. ^ Cite error: The named reference hoffecker2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  41. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hardy2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ^ Cite error: The named reference ferentinos2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  43. ^ Cite error: The named reference strasser2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference buckley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ Cite error: The named reference lev2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  46. ^ Power, R. C.; Salazar-García, D. C.; Rubini, M.; Darlas, A.; Harvati, K.; Walker, M.; Hublin, J.; Henry, A. G. (2018). "Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche". Journal of Human Evolution. 119: 27–41. Bibcode:2018JHumE.119...27P. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.02.009. hdl:10550/65536. ISSN 0047-2484. PMID 29685752. S2CID 13831823.
  47. ^ Cite error: The named reference Spikins2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  48. ^ Cite error: The named reference Valensi2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  49. ^ Cite error: The named reference krief2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  50. ^ Cite error: The named reference hardy2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  51. ^ Cite error: The named reference dusseldorp2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  52. ^ Cite error: The named reference neandercarnivore was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  53. ^ Cite error: The named reference Henry2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  54. ^ Cite error: The named reference shipley2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  55. ^ Cite error: The named reference Madella2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  56. ^ Brown 2011.
  57. ^ Shipman 2015, pp. 120–143.
  58. ^ Tattersall 2015.
  59. ^ Cite error: The named reference Errico2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  60. ^ Finlayson 2019.
  61. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hoffman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  62. ^ Cite error: The named reference Moncel2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  63. ^ Cite error: The named reference Majkic2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  64. ^ Cite error: The named reference Turk2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  65. ^ Cite error: The named reference Aubert2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  66. ^ Cite error: The named reference pike2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  67. ^ Cite error: The named reference hoffmann2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  68. ^ Cite error: The named reference wunn2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  69. ^ Cite error: The named reference dediu2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  70. ^ Cite error: The named reference danastasio2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  71. ^ Cite error: The named reference stewart2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  72. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kislev2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  73. ^ Cite error: The named reference Azevedo2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  74. ^ Rae, T. C.; Koppe, T.; Stringer, C. B. (2011). "The Neanderthal face is not cold adapted". Journal of Human Evolution. 60 (2): 234–239. Bibcode:2011JHumE..60..234R. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.10.003. PMID 21183202.
  75. ^ Cite error: The named reference Helmuth1998 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  76. ^ Stringer, C. (1984). "Human evolution and biological adaptation in the Pleistocene". In Foley, R. (ed.). Hominid evolution and community ecology. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-261920-5.
  77. ^ Cite error: The named reference holloway1985 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  78. ^ Cite error: The named reference amano2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  79. ^ Beals, K.; Smith, C.; Dodd, S. (1984). "Brain size, cranial morphology, climate, and time machines" (PDF). Current Anthropology. 12 (3): 301–30. doi:10.1086/203138. S2CID 86147507.
  80. ^ Bruner, Emiliano (2004). "Geometric Morphometrics and Paleoneurology: Brain Shape Evolution in the Genus Homo". Journal of Human Evolution. 47 (5): 279–303. Bibcode:2004JHumE..47..279B. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.03.009. PMID 15530349.
  81. ^ Bruner, Emiliano (2010). "Morphological Differences in the Parietal Lobes with the Human Genus: A Neurofunctional Perspective". Current Anthropology. 51 (1): S77–S88. doi:10.1086/650729. S2CID 146587487.
  82. ^ Bruner, Emiliano; Manzi, Giorgio; Arsuaga, Juan Luis (2003). "Encephalization and Allometric Trajectories in the Genus Homo: Evidence from the Neandertal and Modern Lineages". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 100 (26): 15335–15340. Bibcode:2003PNAS..10015335B. doi:10.1073/pnas.2536671100. PMC 307568. PMID 14673084.
  83. ^ Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Neubauer, Simon; Gunz, Philipp (2015). "Brain Ontogeny and Life History in Pleistocene Hominins". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 370 (1663): 1–11. doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0062. PMC 4305163. PMID 25602066. S2CID 1518695.
  84. ^ Weaver, Anne (2005). "Reciprocal Evolution of the Cerebellum and Neocortex in Fossil Humans". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 102 (10): 3576–3580. Bibcode:2005PNAS..102.3576W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0500692102. PMC 553338. PMID 15731345.
  85. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bruner2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  86. ^ Nishiaki, Yoshihiro; Jöris, Olaf (November 27, 2019). Learning Among Neanderthals and Palaeolithic Modern Humans: Archaeological Evidence. Springer Nature. p. 19. ISBN 978-981-13-8980-1. "indicates that the volumes of the parietal cortex and cerebellum in the Neanderthal brain seemed to be smaller than those in modern humans, while the region from the posterior temporal to occipital cortex seemed to be larger in Neanderthals..."
  87. ^ Cite error: The named reference green was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  88. ^ Sankararaman, S.; Mallick, S.; Patterson, N.; Reich, D. (2016). "The combined landscape of Denisovan and Neanderthal ancestry in present-day humans". Current Biology. 26 (9): 1241–1247. Bibcode:2016CBio...26.1241S. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.037. PMC 4864120. PMID 27032491.
  89. ^ Cite error: The named reference sankararaman2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  90. ^ Cite error: The named reference Peyrégne was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  91. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kuhlwilm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  92. ^ Cite error: The named reference Prufer2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  93. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pennisi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  94. ^ Cite error: The named reference vernot2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  95. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nedelec2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  96. ^ Cite error: The named reference Segurel2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  97. ^ Zeberg, Hugo; Pääbo, Svante (March 2, 2021). "A genomic region associated with protection against severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neandertals". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (9): e2026309118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11826309Z. doi:10.1073/pnas.2026309118. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 7936282. PMID 33593941. S2CID 231943450.
  98. ^ Zeberg, Hugo; Pääbo, Svante (September 30, 2020). "The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals". Nature. 587 (7835): 610–612. Bibcode:2020Natur.587..610Z. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2818-3. hdl:21.11116/0000-0007-0F26-F. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 32998156. S2CID 222148977.
  99. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dolgova2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  100. ^ Reich 2018.

Developed by StudentB