neanderthal

Transmission #1 of the Cosmic Anthropology Broadcast System: The Neanderthal Pride Ep

The Neanderthal Pride ep Taking a look at the nature and complexity of human evolution: past, present and future. WORKS MENTIONED: X-Men: First Class, X-Men 2 Crux by Ramez Naam [sequel to Nexus] newuniversal Brookings Report The Tomorrow People American Horror Story: Coven LINKS: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/17/magazine/should-you-fear-the-pizzly-bear.html [HYBRIDIZATION] http://www.livescience.com/46636-how-tibetans-survive-high-altitude.html [DENISOVAN DNA] http://www.nature.com/news/neanderthals-bone-technique-redrafts-prehistory-1.15739 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal_genome_project http://io9.com/google-wants-to-create-a-map-of-the-perfectly-healthy-h-1610873338  Interview with George […]

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romkids:

Fossil Friday: This Neanderthal’s seen better days…

We recently updated our collection of human evolution skulls. Above we have a very beaten Neanderthal.

Neanderthals represent a fascinating look at the human evolutionary tree. As recently as 30,000 years ago, homo sapiens and Neaderthal’s coexisted. Evidence suggests that we even share close genetic material with other, which is to say at some point we humans and Neanderthal’s interbred.

Neanderthals not only shared physical traits with us, but also seemingly art and maybe even culture. To think that a close relative of ours was making art, as we were also making art is astounding.

More information!
So much science is being done on this right now, shedding new light on our close relatives seemingly daily. Check out the links (all from the last few years) below.

Written by @kironcmukherjee. Last update: January 25th, 2014.

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In one new study of 1000 human genomes, Sriram Sankararaman and David Reich of Harvard Medical School and colleagues found that Neanderthal DNA is most common in regions of the genome with the greatest genetic variability, making them a prime target for natural selection. While Neanderthal DNA may make up only 1.6 to 1.8 per cent of the Eurasian genome, it punches above its weight in terms of biological impact, says Reich (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature12961).

Joshua Akey and Ben Vernot of the University of Washington in Seattle have analysed the Neanderthal DNA in a further 665 humans (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1245938). Both their study and the Harvard one found a hotspot of Neanderthal ancestry in genes relating to keratin, a fibrous protein found in our hair, skin and nails.

One of the genes, BNC2, is involved in skin pigmentation. That implies that Eurasians owe their paler skins partly to Neanderthals. Light skin is an advantage at higher latitudes because it is more efficient at generating vitamin D from sunlight, so Neanderthal DNA may have helped modern humans to adapt to life outside Africa.

If so, the adaptation took thousands of years to become universal. A third study published this week describes a DNA analysis of one person who lived in Stone Age Europe about 7000 years ago – 40,000 years after any Neanderthal interbreeding. His genes suggest his skin was dark (Nature, doi.org/q74). It may be that the Neanderthal keratin affected early Eurasians’ hair instead, perhaps straightening it.

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Neanderthal DNA is irregularly spaced through the modern human genome rather than being fully mixed. That implies that interbreeding occurred very rarely. Sankararaman estimates it may have happened just four times.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129542.600-neanderthalhuman-sex-bred-light-skins-and-infertility.html
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Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests   

The hyoid bone is crucial for speaking as it supports the root of the tongue. In non-human primates, it is not placed in the right position to vocalise like humans.

An international team of researchers analysed a fossil Neanderthal throat bone using 3D x-ray imaging and mechanical modelling.

This model allowed the group to see how the hyoid behaved in relation to the other surrounding bones.

Stephen Wroe, from the University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia, said: “We would argue that this is a very significant step forward. It shows that the Kebara 2 hyoid doesn’t just look like those of modern humans – it was used in a very similar way.”

Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests   

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The idea that Neanderthals buried their dead fits with recent findings that they were capable of symbolic thought and of developing rich cultures. For example, findings show they likely decorated themselves using pigments, and wore jewelry made of feathers and colored shells.

Evidence from the La Chapelle site also suggests that Neanderthals were like us in that they cared for their sick and elderly. The skeleton discovered by the Bouyssonie brothers belonged to a Neanderthal who was missing most of his teeth and showed signs of hip and back problems that would have made movement difficult without assistance.

“Before they took care of his dead body, the other members of his group would have had to have taken care of his living one,” Rendu said.

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