Who were the relatives of humans and how did they end up?

When our earliest modern human ancestors migrated to Europe about 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals as a species were already in danger of extinction. Only 5,000 years later, not a single Neanderthal remains. Although we will never know whether we were directly responsible for the extinction of our closest human cousins, it would not be wrong to say that we also have a role to play.

The remains of Neanderthals, found in the Neander Valley near Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1856, have been the subject of much controversy. Traditionally, they have been shown to be a little ahead of modern apes, but it is now thought that Neanderthals were much closer to us than our previous ideas. Recent discoveries have revealed that our relatives were more sophisticated, highly developed hunters capable of making jewelry and tools. In fact, the DNA of Neanderthal and modern man is 99.7% identical, which should come as no surprise because we had common ancestors in Africa only half a million years ago. This is closely related to the evolutionary point of view.

The Homo sapiens, a descendant of the Homo sapiens after the separation from their common ancestors, remained in Africa relatively recently, while the ancestors of the Neanderthals migrated to Europe and Asia even earlier. When the two species finally reunited in Europe 45,000 years ago, we can only wonder if Neanderthals had lost their new neighbors, these tall, slender and incomprehensible, weak monkeys (modern humans). Power would have been misjudged.

Neanderthals were far more powerful than we were. Their muscle structure was so developed that the remnants of their skeleton sometimes appear to bend under the weight of the body. Because of its clear nose, its face was tilted forward, and it is thought to be an evolutionary adaptation to warm the air so that it can breathe better to survive extreme cold weather. Can Their solid bodies and small limbs resemble the bodies of modern humans living in extremely cold regions? Both seem to have adapted to the environment in order to reduce the spread of anatomy and to maintain heat in cold climates.

After living five times longer in the northern hemisphere than the modern inhabitants of northern Europe, Neanderthals may have adopted blue or green eyes, clear skin and other evolutionary features of hair. It is also possible that they spent more time hunting than collecting food. Chemical analysis of their bones reveals high levels of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in them, which are found in most carnivorous predators, and animal skeletons are also found in large numbers in Neanderthal habitats.

He is thought to have been an ambush hunter-gatherer who was able to think and work together on a plan to kill a woolly mammoth while reconstructing his vocal cords. Giving shows that they had at least 25% speaking ability of modern humans which is enough for an effective proto-language.

Neanderthals are known for their thick eyebrows and large nostrils, but the patchwork on the back of the skull is a sure sign of their identity. For thousands of years, the population of Neanderthals stretched from England in North Wales to Eurasia and Siberia, and even to the borders of modern-day China.

So what happened to Ni Anderthal? Because the caves they chose for their habitation are very suitable for the preservation of bones, each new archeological discovery provides new clues and this trend continues, so far more than a thousand individuals There are remnants of neanderthals which can give us an interesting glimpse into the end of neanderthal.

The disappearance of Neanderthals is not the result of a single event but may have been driven by complex factors that spanned thousands of years. At different times in different parts of Europe, Neanderthals kept dying for local reasons, and these reasons were different in each place. However, climate change seems to be the most important factor. Fifty thousand years ago, the Earth's ecosystem was affected by a sudden cold snap, and the population of the medium to large mammals that used to hunt them declined sharply. The dramatic cold wave that has lasted for almost a thousand years since then is the time when Neanderthals gradually disappeared.

It seems that the population of Neanderthals has dwindled and, struggling to survive, has shrunk to its core in remote areas. Neanderthals are thought to have relied heavily on a limited meat-eating diet, and their failure to adapt to new hunting methods has led to a sharp decline in their numbers.

But if our earliest modern human ancestors found ways to survive, why couldn't New Enderthal adapt to the new environmental challenges? Although Neanderthals apparently used to cut rocks, stone tools from thousands of years old sites show little sign of technological advancement, which suggests that Neanderthals may have had great inventive minds. Were not

About 100,000 years ago, our Homo sapiens ancestors in Africa experienced the same kind of stagnation and laziness that led them to the Cognitive Revolution. Probably a factor as to why they're doing so poorly.

According to archaeologist Steven Shannon of University College London, the rate of cultural innovation accelerated when our earliest modern human ancestors began to live in larger groups than ever before. Skills were needed, as evidenced by the work of Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist at Oxford University.

Dunbar's research has shown that prior to the classification and division into rival groups, there used to be a certain appropriate number of members of primitive groups consisting of different types of members. Dunbar's popular opinion is that the modern man can maintain a strong relationship with 150 people, so it is the best number for efficient companies, small village populations, efficient military units and personal social media networks.

Groups of 150 people from our earliest modern human ancestors made us a strong force, but according to Dunbar, our real strength lay in the development of language that allowed us to know friends and foes and exchange useful information. Were

Under this 'gossip theory', human language developed as an evolutionary adaptation of storytelling. Gossip helped bring large groups of people together, but it also gave rise to fiction, artistic creativity, and, most importantly, the ability to talk about things that weren't in front of our eyes.

Joel Noah Harari's best-selling book, Sapiens, using Dunbar's gossip theory, suggests that it was a special human trait of storytelling and abstract thinking that truly gave us the earth. Provided an opportunity to inherit.

He argues that fiction and fictional elements may have played a pivotal role in shaping these ideas, breaking Dunbar's 150-digit threshold and transforming isolated human populations into a complex culture that has led to inter-tribal innovations, crucial. Trade unions, religions, and ultimately states of millions, even billions, came into being.

Harari writes: "So far, none of this is beyond the stories that people create and tell each other. There is no god in the universe, no nations, no money, no human rights, no laws and no justice system that is beyond human imagination. "

There is definite evidence that early modern humans developed long-distance trade routes to protect them from malnutrition when they were at risk of survival in the event of an unexpected food shortage.

In contrast, before the advent of early modern humans, it seems that Anderthal lived in Europe in very small, scattered, limited and sparse populations, which caused him to lag behind in technological advances.

Recent advances in Neanderthal DNA analysis have also revealed a number of things. The bones found in a cave in Croatia in the 1980s belonged to a female, Anderthal, who lived 52,000 years ago. But surprisingly, it was genetically similar to another Neanderthal that lived in Siberia 122,000 years ago. Despite the distances of about 4,000 miles and 70,000 years, such similarities support the theory that the decline in the genetic diversity of Neanderthals contributed to their extinction.

In contrast, a recent study by the University of Denmark found that the genomes of early modern humans were genetically more diverse, reinforcing the idea that ancient humans lived in large ranges of communities where they were more regular. Provided an opportunity to exchange genes and ideas with sexual partners.

Their greater diversity will increase their resistance to infectious diseases and their overall success as a species. Sexual intercourse with blood relatives seems to have been socially unacceptable in early modern human culture, while the genomes of Neanderthals provide extensive evidence of close sexual intercourse between close relatives, which is a must in isolated communities. The result was.

Most archaeologists believe that Neanderthals had excellent language skills, but their cultural limitations meant that whenever they encountered other Neanderthal groups, the language barrier spread to Neanderthal networking. Came across

But it was not just our vast circle that made our ancestors superior. The great changes in the minds of our forefathers took place when the 'Mental Revolution took place during the African era which equipped them with better abilities to survive in hostile environments.

On the other hand, as part of the evolutionary process in Europe separately, parts of the parietal lobe and cerebellum developed less in the brains of Neanderthals, which are the primary source of tool use, creation, problem-solving, and advanced imaginative activity. That is why our forefathers were able to tackle the challenges of climate change because they were more innovative.

Sewing may not seem like a revolutionary technique, but other similar skills, such as weaving, have given us the opportunity to create traps, traps, and predatory ropes that enable young and old people of early modern human communities to hunt small mammals. The range of protein-rich foods has expanded.

Although our forefathers discovered safe ways to kill animals by using long-range hunting tools and later using bows and arrows, it is believed that the Neanderthal ambush was limited to hunting very closely. Which was a dangerous professional approach.

However, the Neanderthal habitat provides evidence that they developed state-of-the-art equipment shortly before extinction. According to Paul Mailers, a retired professor of prehistory at Cambridge University, he began imitating his new neighbors.

But they are probably too late to innovate. Mailer's comparative study of Neanderthal habitats and the human population in southern France is eye-opening. They came to the conclusion that after reaching Europe with a population of only a few thousand, modern humans soon surpassed the Neanderthals in number and increased their rate to ten against one.

Anthropologist Pete Shipman says early humans were taller and thinner with less metabolism, so they had to expend less energy on hunting and gathering food and needed fewer calories to survive in unfavorable conditions.

Their superiority as long-distance athletes was enhanced by the training of wolves, which enabled them to more efficiently detect prey and protect valuable carcasses from other predators, thus enabling them to Rivals left Anderthals behind in the fight for survival.

Recent advances in radiocarbon dating indicate with 95% confidence that modern humans and Neanderthals lived together in Europe between 2600 and 5400 years ago, 45,000 years ago. The disappearance of Neanderthals so soon after the arrival of our ancestors in Europe may be a sign that we are accelerating the process of their extinction. The disappearance of Neanderthals is one of the most fascinating mysteries in history and some people think we were directly responsible for it.

Of course, it is true that two very similar species of predators cannot live in the same place indefinitely, and it is possible that both are attracted to habitats, caves and hunting resources. But keep in mind that the population was very small at that time, and an estimated 100 square kilometers would be the rate of just one human or Neanderthal, so the two races could live together, compete constantly or even meet suddenly. Opportunities will rarely be created.

But we do know that there have been at least some brief meetings. Until recently, it was thought that Neanderthals and modern early humans lived completely separate lives, but in 2014, evolutionary geneticists shocked the scientific community by announcing that Neanderthals were not completely extinct.

Analysis of the modern human genome reveals that today almost every person whose lineage is outside of sub-Saharan Africa has a little bit of Neanderthal DNA in their genes because in every age of history The earliest human encounters were with Neanderthals and there were incidents of sexual intercourse between them. So many people around the world have a little bit of endurance.

New archeological discoveries continue to offer fascinating glimpses of modern Neanderthal culture. Symbolic representation is important when it comes to language and intellectual development, so recent research by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has used uranium-thorium dating to show that modern humans were the first in Europe. Some 20,000 years ago, Neanderthals were creating art in caves at three different locations in Spain.

If Neanderthals really had a symbolic mindset, they probably wouldn't be able to be separated from their new neighbors, modern humans, in practice. Possibly Neanderthals were only 30,000 years behind us and died a million years ago before they had a chance to complete the great mental leap filled by our African ancestors.

Perhaps because of his physical prowess, our emaciated and thick-eyed cousins ​​have been misrepresented as ruthless savages, but he may also have had a sense of empathy. The remains of Neanderthal reveal that he suffered horrific wounds during the hunt, which healed long before his death, indicating that he was also caring for his wounded. Who was able to recover much later and contribute to the survival of their group.

Just like the early humans, they buried their dead to preserve their bodies, possibly in view of the afterlife. Some cemetery items were later discovered at the Einderthal burial site, and a large quantity of pollen was found at a site in Iraq, indicating that they had been buried with flowers.