The Neanderthals

Paper Summary:

The Neanderthals were an early race who lived in Europe and probably West Asia between 120,000 and 35,000 years ago. This paper looks at the fossils found from 1856 who tell the story of the Neanderthal's traveling through Europe and Asia. It looks at the three conflicting theories between scientists who disagree over their interpretations about what constitutes the characteristics of a Neanderthal. Other aspects discussed in the paper include anatomical characteristics, tool-making techniques and cultural rituals.

From the Paper:

"Scientists who examined the fossils disagreed in their interpretations. German anatomist Rudolf Virchow was the first to study these fossils and believed that they decidedly belonged to a homo sapiens with rickets, a physical condition that results from the lack of Vitamin D (Browning). Virchow also suggested that the Neanderthal man's flattened head was the outcome of powerful blows. As more fossils got discovered, the belief that they belonged to a sub-human species developed.
After many skeletons were dug out, French paleontologist Marcellin Boule advanced the theory that Neanderthals could not fully extend their legs, walked in stooped posture, and with their heads thrust forward. The concept was popularly accepted for approximately 50 years, after which Boule's theory was appraised by researchers. They concluded that Neanderthals did not walk in stoop posture but rather upright but stooped because of arthritis (Browning). Some scientists considered them a subspecies of homo sapiens, to which contemporary human beings belong today. This assumption was based on the differences in anatomy between the Neanderthals and the homo sapiens."

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