Interesting Research Findings Regarding the Life of the Neanderthals
Neanderthals, also known as Homo Neanderthalensis, are named after the Neander Valley. They are an extinct relative of us. It is said that about 400,000 years ago Neanderthals lived in Eurasia - from Portugal and Wales in the west to the Altai Mountain of Siberia in the east.
Compared to modern humans, Neanderthal had a more robust, stockier build, wider pelvis and long bones. Besides, they had short forearms and forelegs. Neanderthals were replaced by modern humans known as Homo Sapiens around 24,000 years ago.
When Were the Neanderthals Discovered?
In 1829, the very first Neanderthal was discovered by the Dutch planetology researcher Philip Carel Schmerling in a cave in Engis, Belgium. At first, he had mistaken it as a modern human skull. The fossils were mainly discovered by the lime workers at Forbes’ Quarry. In 1848 it was presented to the Gibraltar Scientific Society, but they too considered it to be a Homo sapiens skull.
Finally, in 1856, Johann Carl Fuhlrott found some bones from Feldhofer Cave in Neander Valley. The fossils were made up of robust cranium, thigh bones, massive arched brows, lime bones and pieces of the ribs. By the early 20th century numerous additional fossils were discovered which established Homo Neanderthalensis as a legitimate species.
In the middle of the century, the scientist community started to research on understanding Neanderthal behaviour, intelligence, culture, and humanlike image.
How Did They Survive and Could They Speak?
The environment was very crucial to the Neanderthals. Therefore, they had to adopt the diversification of climate to survive. They established significant culture and discovered the stone tool technology for hunting, their main occupation.
Until the early 20th century, it was believed that Homo Neanderthals had a lack of communication capacity. By the 1980s, however, a study claimed that they had a similar voice to a newborn baby. The discovery of Neanderthal hyoid bones which is used in the speech production of humans also added to the idea that they could speak.