Neanderthal Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Neanderthal - Term Paper Example The group of mammals was named Neanderthals under homo sapiens as dubbed as homo sapiens neanderthalensis (Trinkaus, 1978). From the studies conducted on the skeletons, it has been theorized that the Neanderthals lived during the ice age, thus their name. Researchers based their conclusions basically from the general features of the skeletal remains where it was observed that the Neanderthals had short limbs and a deep, wide ribcage which allowed lesser surface area exposed to the atmosphere and making the internal organs embedded deep within the body to make them warm (bbc.co.uk, 2005). Aside from showing their ability to adapt to the extreme cold during the ice age because of their physical features, they also tell about their way of living. For instance, the bone structures show an exaggerated massiveness in the trunk and limbs of the Neanderthal males and females (Trinkaus, 1978). This could be traced to how they got their food, through hunting. Professor John Shea (bbc.co.uk, 2005) concludes from studying the hunting materials of the Neanderthals that the spears they used were not purposely shot fro m afar but were used on a face to face encounter with their prey. Because the tools were not as sharp to have been used in attacking from a distance, the theory is that, the Neanderthals had to wait on the wild animals until they get near before attacking them. This explains the muscle developments of the Neanderthals as shown by the skeletons and also helps to give light to the fractures found in some of the Neanderthal bones. For instance, Shanidar 3 (Trinkaus, 1978) has a scar o the rib which, based from studies, is theorized to be from an injury during a fight with a fellow Neanderthal or an accidental injury. The predecessors of the homo sapiens were found to have a similar brain size to the modern man (bbc.co.uk, 2005; Tattersall