Fun Holidays - Neanderthal Day

Probably everyone who attended biology classes at school has heard about Neanderthals. One immediately sees a stocky and hunched figure, a shaggy head, a low forehead, drooping eyebrows, small eyes and a jaw that protrudes strongly forward. This is roughly what Neanderthals look like when they are exhibited in museums—scientists have learned to reconstruct their appearance from skeletons. The most amazing thing is that this representative of the human race lived on earth for five thousand years before his extinction, although in the minds of many this period was two or even three times less. Studies of the remains of Neanderthals are still being carried out. Interest in these representatives of the genus Homo continues, as they may hold the key to evolution. On February 4, the world celebrates a funny holiday - Neanderthal Day. Even 40,000 years ago they inhabited the territory of modern Europe and Asia. The name of this species of people was derived from the German Neanderthal Valley, which is located near Düsseldorf. It was here in 1856 that, quite by accident, in one of the caves, quarry workers discovered the skull of a representative of the human race, which was later acquired by archaeologist Johann Fulroth. This was not the first discovery of Neanderthal remains. They had previously been discovered in Belgium and the Iberian Peninsula. Unfortunately, scientists were unable to identify the remains at that time. Some experts attributed the skull of the first Neanderthal to the individual type, believing that he was simply sick with rickets. However, the publication of Darwin's theory of evolution, which occurred a few years after the discovery of the find, completely overturned the scientific world's understanding of our ancestors. For a long time, Neanderthals were considered “an intermediate link in the transformation of apes into humans.” This opinion still exists today, but it is wrong. This species has been proven to be our relative, with whom Homo Sapiens shares a common ancestor. This ancestor has not yet been identified. Neanderthals became just another branch of the genus. Unfortunately, it is a dead-end branch, since the other development path they took ultimately led to complete extinction. Neanderthals were much shorter and broader in the shoulders than modern humans. They had a brain whose volume exceeds ours, knew how to make fire, made tools, and possibly could talk. On average, Neanderthals lived about 20 years. They wore primitive clothing, lived mostly in groups, and even cared for elderly and incapacitated comrades. Neanderthals built homes and actively hunted. Groups living on the sea coast ate seafood. The diet of the Neanderthals also included plant foods, but the basis was meat. It was this diet that sometimes drove this subspecies of people to cannibalism. During periods of famine or during times of unsuccessful hunting, Neanderthals did not hesitate to eat the meat of their comrades. This is evidenced by the skeletons found, with characteristic damage - traces of separation of meat from bones and crushing of the bones themselves using special silicon tools, fragments of which were discovered by researchers. This was done to extract the bone marrow. For 40,000 years, Neanderthals lived in parallel with the first Homo Sapiens, and most likely overlapped. According to Simon Underdown's theory, which explains the extinction of this subspecies, infections caused by a lack of immunity led to mass death, and Neanderthal cannibals became infected with them when they consumed human meat. Other scientists suggest that Neanderthals died due to changing climatic conditions and due to the fault of man, who began to exterminate them. There is another interesting version - Neanderthals simply assimilated. They disappeared as a species due to interbreeding with Cro-Magnons and modern humans. Incredible? And genetic tests have indicated that 1-4% of the genes of modern humans are of Neanderthal origin. Scientists have only two possible explanations for this fact - hybridization and polymorphism. The first option speaks in favor of assimilation, and the second confirms the presence of a common ancestor.