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Essay Subject: Anthropological study of [Homo sapiens sapiens] evolution, society, Neanderthal's extinction, theories.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Anthropological study of [Homo sapiens sapiens] evolution, society, Neanderthal's extinction, theories. Paper Introduction: The Emergence of Modern Humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) The genus, Homo, originated in Africa. The species, Homo habilis and Homo erectus were characterized by a bipedal gait and an increased brain size. Eventually, members of the genus left Africa to colonize a widespread territory. During the Middle Pleistocene, a more advanced Homo species emerged to succeed H. erectus. Homo sapiens had an even larger brain. This enabled it to further expand the territories originally colonized by H. erectus. Over many thousands of years, different varieties of Homo sapiens evolved. One of the first was the Neanderthal. In addition, a form similar to modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens also appeared. Approximately, 30,000 years ago, the Neanderthal disappeared. Furthermore, this period marked numerous H. sapiens Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Conversely, when sea levels dropped, H. Genetic and fossilevidence for the origin of modern humans. The discovery of a craniawhich fills the gap between the different Homo varieties could one day putthe controversy to rest. 28). 317). Thedisappearance of the Neanderthal did not have to occur instantaneously.Rather, the eradication of Neanderthal populations could have been a moregradual process. 318). sapiens is acomplex one. Variouscave deposits show that continuous habitation occurred between 35, and25, years ago. Tudge, C. sapiens sapiens. They think that the 1 , -yeartransitional period was marked by widespread Neanderthal extinctions. sapienssapiens gene pool. Boston, MA: Houghton MifflinCompany. erectus. sapiens sapiensalso migrated. During the Middle Pleistocene, a more advanced Homospecies emerged to succeed H. 439-477. Then, late in the Middle Pleistocene, H. (1995, May 2 ). Homo erectus evidence has been found in East, South, andNorth Africa. Recent African origin of modern humans revealed bycomplete sequences of hominoid mitochondrial DNAs. The formation of land bridges between Siberia and the NewWorld some 12, years ago provided modern H. 532-536. 461). The hominid also migrated to Asia, India, and parts ofEurope. This would compel people to searchfor new land. Such disparity cannot be entirely explained by a reduction indental functioning. Indeed, DNA studies have suggested that the presentgene pool of modern European people is 5% to 1 % Neanderthal (Birdsell,1981, p. The mechanism by which the Neanderthal became extinct hascreated controversy among anthropologists. The disappearance of the Neanderthal occurred around theboundary of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. sapiens with a pathway tothe Americas (Putman, 439-477). Animal species and evolution. Over many thousands of years, different varietiesof Homo sapiens evolved. Besides being technologically superior, the increasing populations ofHomo sapiens sapiens also possessed a more sophisticated socialorganization. An introduction to thenew physical anthropology. 641-642). If modern human characteristics hadevolved gradually over a widespread area, the last common human ancestorwould be much older. Horai, S.; Hayasaka, K.; Kondo, R.; Tsugane, K., & Takahata, N.(1995, January). Currently, the debate regarding the local continuity and thereplacement theories continues. 317).Anthropologists who believe in the replacement theory are sometimes called"catastrophists" (Birdsell, 1981, p. Furthermore, the archaeological evidence does indicate thesimultaneous existence of lineages other than Neanderthal. NewScientist, 146, 24-28.----------------------- 8 (1981). habilis, and greatly expandedits territory. This indicates that modern humans originated in Africaand then migrated to Eurasia, "replacing Homo erectus and the Neanderthalswith no or little gene exchange" (Horai et al., 1995, p. As H. Stringer, C. According to Putman (1988), the oldest modern human skull has beendated by thermoluminescence techniques at 92, years of age (Putman,1988, p. 1263-1268. erectus populations beganto disappear. A competing theory regarding the sudden emergence of Homo sapienssapiens is called the "Replacement Theory" (Birdsell, 1981, p. (1988, October). The species, Homo habilis andHomo erectus were characterized by a bipedal gait and an increased brainsize. In somecases, these migrations were influenced by changes in sea level. Such a phenomenon would havegradually resulted in an influx of Neanderthal genes into the H. One of the first was the Neanderthal. Roughly 2 , years ago, H. The search for modern humans.National Geographic, 174, pp. This enabled it to further expand the territories originallycolonized by H. 298). Science, 239, pp. Certainanthropologists believe that between 35, and 25, years ago,Neanderthal populations gradually evolved into modern Homo sapienspopulations. Eventually, members of the genus left Africa to colonize awidespread territory. Furthermore, in recent times, changes in diet have notsignificantly altered modern humans' craniofacial proportions (Birdsell,1981, p. In addition to the areas formerly inhabited by the Neanderthals,the modern variety also colonized Australia and North America. Periodsof high sea level during the Upper Pleistocene could have increasedpressures on existing food supplies. The two species' brains, crania, teeth, and faces are verydifferent. With their superior weapons andorganization, the modern H. The three humansinvolved in the experiment were of African, European, and Japanese descent. sapiens sapiens populations increased in size,conflict must have inevitably arose over either resources or territory.Perhaps, from time to time, small bands of H. Moreover,new projectile systems were developed. Human evolution. This boundary ischaracterized culturally by numerous hominid technological advances. Moreover, it also concluded that the last commonancestor of the three humans lived approximately 143, years ago. Eventually, in addition to stone and blade tools, thehominids of the Upper Paleolithic also began working with bone. The study determined that humans diverged from chimpanzees some 4.9million years ago. For example,findings from two caves in Palestine show that two species of Homo werepresent during the same period of glaciation. However, between about4 , years ago and 3 , years ago, the hominids' dominance ended.Within a period as brief as 5, years, the Neanderthal simply vanished.In its place appeared a different variety, Homo sapiens sapiens. sapiens would have certainly had an advantage. This hypothesis is based predominantly on anatomicconsiderations. 465). During the 1 , years of Neanderthalexistence, the hominid spread across all of Europe, the Middle East, andwestern and central Asia (Putman, 1988, p. sapiens sapiens andNeanderthals engaged in battle. Thus, such finds may merely be the product of chance. Human origins: A family feud. Such factors may have motivated the migrations to Indonesiaand Australia. Homo sapiens had an even largerbrain. These long, narrow flakes were chipped off prismatic cores to formcomplex tools. erectus. Inaddition, a form similar to modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens alsoappeared. Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences of the United States, 92, pp. erectus succeeded H. Cambridge, MA: TheBelknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1267).Perhaps, following conflict between the two species, Neanderthal femaleswere enslaved by H. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. With time, H. sapiens varieties evolved.The Neanderthal variety had a brain size and organization which wascomparable to modern humans. J. There are similarities between modernHomo sapiens and Neanderthals (Stringer & Andrews, 1988, p. 318). In the older of the twocaves, Neanderthal remains have been found; whereas, in the younger cave,researchers have found evidence of modern Homo sapiens. Unfortunately though,the anatomical transformation from Neanderthal to modern H. B., & Andrews, P. Forexample, the stone industries of the Upper Paleolithic were based onblades. 461). (1985). (1963). Putman, J. Thesedata support the Replacement theory. As Africa's savannas began expanding between 2 and 1 million yearsago, the primitive hominid species, Homo habilis and Homo erectus emerged(Grant, 1985, p. However, hominid populations at that time were very small: They may have ranged from roughly 5, individuals during times ofglaciation to upwards of 5 , individuals during warm, interglacialperiods. B. Third edition. With time, modern H. Additionally, thedates obtained for the two sites are too late for the populations to haveevolved from the same common ancestors (Mayr, 1963, pp. References Birdsell, J. It is thought that perhaps a change in diet led to agradual alteration of the muscles of mastication. 532). One theory describing the Neanderthal's replacement is known as"Local Continuity Theory" (Birdsell, 1981, p. 3 5-317). Horai, Hayasaka, Kondo, Tsugane, & Takahata (1995) attempted todetermine hominid divergence times by analyzing mitochondrial DNA. 317). Therefore, the complete isolation of a small hominid populationmay have been possible. Approximately, 3 , years ago, the Neanderthal disappeared.Furthermore, this period marked numerous H. The Emergence of Modern Humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) The genus, Homo, originated in Africa. Thus far, no evidence has been found of ananatomically intermediate hominid population. Throughout the Pleistocene, different H. There would havehad to have been physical factors which somehow kept the two separatelineages apart. Of course, there is some debate over how two distinct species of thegenus, Homo, might have evolved on a fairly small planet. Compared to spears, such advancesas the bow and arrow provided more accuracy at greater distances. Thismaterial was often fashioned into even more advanced weapons. In addition to anatomic considerations, certain anthropologists havealso attempted to use archaeological findings to support the continuitytheory. sapiens dispersed widely across theglobe. erectus gave way to an evenmore advanced hominid species, Homo sapiens (Putman, 1988, p. Nonetheless, it should also be mentioned that while the inhabitantsof the Palestine caves came from separate lineages, they may haveintermingled to a certain extent. (1988, March 11). These organisms had a bipedal gait and an enlargedbrain. The bladesmight only represent a few isolated chips in a wide variety of flakescreated by primitive tool making processes (Birdsell, 1981, p. sapiens sapiens culturaladvances. However, skeletal remains that actually document this1 , year transition period are lacking (Birdsell, 1981, p. Archaic Homo sapiensmigrated even as far as China (Tudge, 1995, p. The specific manner by which Homo sapiens sapiens achieved globaldominance has been a source of controversy among anthropologists. In addition, it was found that the African DNA wasthe most different. Mayr, E. Grant, V. The evolutionary process: A critical review ofevolutionary theory. For example, advanced stone tools (i.e., blades) have beenassociated with Neanderthal populations suggesting a gradual evolution.However, these same tools are also found at 2 million year old sites inAfrica. Theresearchers evaluated both human and primate DNA. 41 ). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.