Homo sapiens And Homo neanderthalensis they are two species of hominids who shared our planet for tens of thousands of years (in particular we are talking about the Middle Paleolithic, between 200,000 and 30,000 years ago), but they present various differences, both on the biological plan how much about that cultural/behavioral. In the current state of our knowledge, i Neanderthal they lived mainly in Europe and western Asia, adapting to harsh climates thanks to a robust and muscular body that helped them tolerate the cold. Homo sapienshowever, emerged in Africa about 300,000 years ago and began its gradual expansion into the rest of the world about 100,000 years ago. There technological and cultural superiority Of Homo sapiensthe greater flexibility inadaptation to environments and perhaps climate changes contributed toextinction of the Neanderthals between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago. Today Homo sapiens is the only surviving human species, but the genetic legacy of Neanderthals persists in modern populations, indicating aprofound interaction between the two species.
The different anatomy of sapiens and Neanderthals
The most obvious difference between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens it’s about theirs anatomy. THE Neanderthal, in fact, they stood out for having a more robust and muscular body compared to sapienswith a broad chest, short arms and legs, and a generally more stooped posture. This adaptation was probably functional to face the intense cold of Europe under ice age in which they lived, since a more massive body reduces heat loss.
Homo sapienson the contrary, presented a slimmer and taller buildwhich favored the thermoregulation in warmer climates and greater running efficiency. The head of Homo sapiens it tended to be smaller and the skull was less prominent, while Neanderthals had a lower forehead, a wider face and a longer skull.
The size of the Neanderthal brain and sapiens
Although it has been proven that men of Neanderthal they had a brain bigger as compared to Homo Sapiensit is still not clear whether this led to greater intelligence in some areas.
In fact, many studies suggest that Homo sapiens had one more developed cerebral cortexparticularly in areas associated with language, planning And abstract thinkingskills that likely gave our species an advantage in social interactions and technology.
THE Neanderthal they seem to have used sophisticated tools and they had a material culturebut it is not clear whether they possessed a complex language like i sapiens.
Neanderthal culture and sapiens in comparison
The men of Neanderthaldespite being capable of producing advanced tools and using fire, does not seem to have developed a culture as complex as that of Homo sapiens. The latter, in particular, is known to have developed on many complex occasions rock carvings, funerary rituals and other forms of symbolic expressionwhile evidence of symbolic behavior in Neanderthals is much rarer and less sophisticated.
Secondly, the social structure of the Homo sapiens was probably more complex, characterized by larger groups and a well-defined hierarchical organization. Neanderthals, on the other hand, probably lived in smaller and less structured groups.
The genetic interaction between the different Homo
For a long time it was believed that Homo sapiens is the only protagonist of recent human evolutionbut modern genetic studies of DNA have revolutionized the way we perceive our evolutionary history.
By analyzing the genome of modern populations, it emerged that Homo sapiens And neanderthalensis they interbred on several occasions between 50,000 and 30,000 years ago. Traces of this shared past are still present today: 1-2% of the DNA of people who are not of African descent is Neanderthal-derived DNA.
This genetic heritage is testimony to a profound interaction between the two species of Homo who, for a time, shared the same planet. This implies that we are not simply the product of a pure evolutionary line, but the result of a genetic mosaic that combines characteristics from multiple branches of the humanity tree. Neanderthals, often seen as “others”, are instead part of the our biological and cultural identity.
So why did Neanderthals become extinct?
The precise reasons why Neanderthals became extinct are not yet completely clearbut it is believed that the ability of Homo sapiens Of adapt to different environments, their greater cultural flexibility and advanced technologies gave them a competitive advantage. THE climate changes, there competition for resources and the disease transmission between different species may also have contributed to the disappearance of the Neanderthals.
