The rise of humans

The rise of humans

There are many controversies surrounding the place of humans. After all, what means to be human? Is it related to language, tool use, or the emergence of culture? It is argued that increased spirituality distinguishes humans. In this chapter we take a look at two types of human beings that were presented – the Neanderthals and Cro Magnon. However, as we will see their separation is not entirely clear.

However, before reaching that point we will have to deepen again in a more remote past – back to humanity's very original as we did in Chapter two. In the crudest of summary we can suggest that a small living African apes about six million years ago was the last animal whose descendants would include both modern humans and their closest relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees. Only two branches of your family tree descendants have survived. Soon after division, for reasons that are still under discussion, apes on a branch developed the ability to walk upright .. brain size increased rapidly, nearby. The genus is estimated at about 2.5 million years, evolving from Australopithecus ancestors with the appearance of Homo habilis.

The appearance Homo coincides with the first evidence of stone tools and, therefore, by definition, with the start of the Lower Paleolithic. All species except Homo sapiens (man modern) have become extinct. Homo neanderthalensis, traditionally considered the last surviving relative, died out 24,000 years ago, while a recent discovery suggests that another species, Homo floresiensis, may have lived as recently as 12,000 years ago. A minority of zoologists believe that the two species of chimpanzees (Usually treated in the genus Pan), and maybe the gorillas (usually treated in the genus Gorilla) should also be included in the genus based on genetic similarity. Most scientists argue that chimpanzees and gorillas have too many anatomical differences between them and humans to be part of Homo. Given the large number morphological similarities exhibited, Homo is closely related to several genera of extinct hominids, especially Kenyanthropus, Paranthropus and Australopithecus. Since 2008, there is no universally accepted recognition that radiated Homo taxa.

Thus we can see that in our discussion of God and nature there is still much to discover. It is not a simple dichotomy between creation and evolution, when we know so little about the latter.

Homo Species

As we saw in chapter two of the exact status of the species Homo rudolfensis, ergaster, georgicus, antecessor, cepranensis, and continues rhodesiensis floresiensis still under debate. H. and H. heidelbergensis neanderthalensis are closely interrelated and considered as a subspecies of Homo sapiens, but analysis shows mitochondrial DNA of fossils of Homo neanderthalensis H. neanderthalensis is more closely related to chimpanzees H. sapiens is, suggesting that Homo sapiens is the most derived of the two. Of course, the line between different species or even genera is rather arbitrary as bodies are constantly changing through generations. At the same time, the division in the other branch common ancestors of chimps and the ancestors of the bonobo as evolving simultaneously in all life forms.

Homo sapiens anatomically modern humans are believed to have originated somewhere around 200,000 years ago or earlier in Africa, the most ancient fossils date back some 160,000 years ago. An excellent summary can be found in "Roger Lewin, Human Evolution."

Fire, Language and Spirituality

So how do you define the ascent of man. Was it when one of our distant ancestors first picked up by a fire burning branch, or when it began to communicate through language or tools you use? The use of fire is unique, but other animals are the uses of the tool and language. The ability to control fire probably began in the Homo erectus (or Homo ergaster), probably at least 790,000 years ago, but perhaps as early as 1.5 million years ago. In addition, sometimes suggested that the use and discovery of controlled fire, they can even be earlier than Homo erectus. The fire was possibly used in the early Lower Paleolithic (Oldowan) hominid Homo habilis and / or robust australopithecines such as Paranthropus.

However it is more difficult to establish the origin of language, it is unclear whether Homo erectus could speak or whether this capacity had not begun to Homo sapiens. Since increased brain size, babies born before their heads grew before too large to pass through the pelvis. As a result, exhibit more plasticity, and thus possessed of a greater capacity to learn and requires a longest dependence. Social skills became more complex, the language became more advanced, and tools became more sophisticated. This contributed greater cooperation and development of the brain. The first show evidence of spirituality as far as we can see are the Neanderthals (usually classified as a separate species, with no surviving descendants), buried their dead, often seemingly with food or tools. Were Neanderthals then spiritual beings first?

Neanderthal

There was perhaps some concern about the Neanderthals, as there are many fossils of them then any hominid others. Neanderthals we are interested in what appear to be the first to be formed something of spiritual awareness paleoanthropological Neanderthal specimens are classified as Pleistocene species of the genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western and central Asia. The first features Neanderthal proto-appeared in Europe as soon as 350-500 thousand years ago. Complete Neanderthal characteristics had appeared and disappeared 130,000 years ago in Asia 50,000 years ago and from Europe about 30,000 years ago. The last remains of the Neanderthal skeleton with features found in Lagar Velho in southern Iberia and date of last 24,500 years.

This "Neanderthal" (24.5 kya) in Europe evolved Mousterian, Chatelperronian, Aurignacian and Gravettian cultures archaeological. Gravettian culture extends 2500 years and a maximum of 22,000 years ago. Neanderthals coexisted with modern humans 15,000 years after Homo sapiens had migrated to eastern Europe or south. Steven L. Kuhn and Mary C. Stiner believes that the Neanderthal population was never much more than 10,000 people.

Neanderthals had many adaptations to a cold climate: short, sturdy build, and rather large noses – traits selected by evolution in cold climates. Its cranial capacity was larger than modern humans, indicating that their brains may have been larger. They were almost exclusively carnivorous predators. On average, the height of Neanderthals was comparable to contemporaneous homo sapiens. Neanderthal males stood about 165-168 cm tall and were built largely with the bone structure solid. They were much stronger, with your arms and hands particularly strong. Women were 152-156 cm tall. For some time, professionals of debate whether Neanderthals should be classified as Homo neanderthalensis or as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, the latter placing Neanderthals as a subspecies of Homo sapiens.

Genetic statistical calculation (2006 results) suggests at least 5% of the modern human gene pool can be attributed to mix old and contribution may have been the European Neanderthals. Some morphological studies support that Homo neanderthalensis is a separate species and subspecies. Some suggest that inherited mixture. Others, for example, Professor Paul Mellars, such as "No evidence was found of cultural interaction" and evidence of mitochondrial DNA studies have been interpreted as evidence that Neanderthals were a subspecies of Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens mtDNA from Australia (Mungo Man 40ky) is also not found in recent human genomic pool and mitochondrial DNA sequences African temporarily comparative samples are not yet available.

The discovery of Neanderthal original is now considered the beginning of paleoanthropology. These and other findings led to the idea that these remains belonged to the old Europeans who had played an important role in the origins of modern man. The bones of more than 400 Neanderthals have been found since. As discussed in comparison with modern humans, Neanderthals were similar in height, but with more robust bodies, and had different morphological characteristics, especially the skull, which gradually accumulated more derived aspects, particularly in certain relatively isolated geographic regions.

Controversy rages about the exact relationship between Neanderthals and humans modern. On November 16, 2006, Science Daily published an interview suggesting that Neanderthals and ancient humans probably did not interbreed. Edward M. Rubin, director U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), sequenced a fraction (0.00002) nuclear genomic DNA (NDNA) of a femur bone Vindi Neanderthal 38,000 years. They calculated the common ancestor is about 353,000 years, and a complete separation of the ancestors species 188,000 years ago. Their results show the genomes of modern humans and Neanderthals are at least 99.5%, but despite this genetic similarity, and Although the two species have coexisted in the same geographic region for thousands of years, Rubin and his team found no evidence of any significant crossbreeding between the two. Rubin said: "Although not to definitively conclude that interbreeding between the two species of humans did not occur, the nuclear DNA analysis Neanderthal suggests the low likelihood that occurred at any appreciable level. "

One of the drivers of mixing hypothesis is Erik Trinkaus, University of Washington. In a 2006 study by Trinkaus and his co-authors report a possibility that Neanderthals and humans interbred. The study aims to resolve the dispute of extinction, according to the researchers, the Neanderthal man mixed populations through sexual reproduction. Trinkaus states, "the extinction by absorption is a common phenomenon. "and" From my perspective, the replacement versus continuity debate that raged through the 1990s is now dead. " Recently, Richard E. Green et al. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology published the complete sequence of Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and suggested that Neanderthals had a long-term effective population size smaller than that of modern humans. While reporting in the journal Nature on the Journal same publication, James Morgan said the mitochondrial DNA sequence contains clues that Neanderthals lived in "small, isolated populations, and probably did not interbreed with their human neighbors. "

There is the possibility of Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon interbred, but left little genetic evidence. There is continuing debate whether hunter-gatherers of the Stone Age when agriculture began half came in contact with agriculture, or replaced entirely by farmers moving from the Middle East. If modern Europeans are descended mainly from agriculture to these people with little or no genetic contribution of the workers of the stone age average then it is possible to cross between them and the Neanderthals would not have had a great effect on the modern gene pool.

However, as you can see the main point to be gleaned from these studies is that there is still much research to be done. Of greater interest to us is the fact that it was during this time that seems glimpse the first increase in spirituality. For me it's less important if Neanderthals as part of our ancestors (the evidence seems against) that it is during this time see the emergence of the spiritual aspects of culture between Neanderthals and archaic sapiens.

However, I must point out that Neanderthal skeletons have relatively

Neanderthals and language

I think the initial work of Boule may have reduced the capacity of Neanderthals in the public mind. The idea that Neanderthals lacked complex language was widespread, despite concerns about the accuracy of the reconstructions of Neanderthal vocal tract, until 1983, when a man Neanderthal hyoid bone was found in the Cave of Kebara in Israel. The hyoid is a small bone that connects the muscles of the tongue and larynx, and preparing these structures a against the other, allows a wider range of tongue and laryngeal movements than would be possible. The presence of this bone means that the language was anatomically possible. The bone was found is virtually identical to modern humans. The morphology of the outer and middle ear of Neanderthal ancestors, Homo heidelbergensis Found in Spain, suggests they had an auditory sensitivity similar to modern humans and very different from chimpanzees. They were probably able to differentiate between many different sounds.

neurological evidence for potential speech neanderthalensis exists in the form of the hypoglossal canal. The channel is neanderthalensis same size or larger than modern humans, which are significantly larger than the canal of australopithecines and modern chimpanzees. The channel carries the nerve halibut, which controls the muscles of the tongue. This indicates that neanderthalensis had vocal capabilities similar to modern humans. Furthermore, a recent DNA extraction Neanderthal bones indicates that Neanderthals had the same version of FOXP2 gene of modern humans. This gene is known to play a role in human language.

Steve Mithen (2006) suggested that Neanderthals had an elaborate proto-linguistic system of communication that is more musical than modern human language, and predates the separation of language and music in two different modes of cognition. Definitely linking the use of language as a human characteristic but really is not a determinant of other species have the use of language. However, one might argue that language is one definite way of communicating the spirituality.

Tools

Neanderthals and Middle Paleolithic archaeological sites show less and toolkit different from those found in the upper reservoir Paleolithic, which may have been occupied by modern humans who replaced them. Fossil evidence that may have made the tools found in Paleolithic sites early Upper remains missing. Neanderthals are believed to have used tools of the Mousterian class, which is often produced using soft hammer percussion, with hammers made of materials like bones, antlers, and wood, rather than hard hammer percussion, using stone hammers. One result of this is that their bone industry is relatively simple. However, there is good evidence that they routinely constructed a variety of stone implements. Neanderthal tools most often consisted of sophisticated stone flakes, hand axes and spears specific tasks.

Many of these tools are very sharp. There is good evidence that using a lot of wood, objects are unlikely to have survived until today. Also, while they had weapons, whether they had implements which were used as projectile weapons is the subject controversial. They had spears, made of long wooden shafts with spearheads firmly attached, but is believed by some that have been thrust spears. However, a Levallois point embedded in a vertebra shows an angle of impact, suggesting that entered a "parabolic trajectory" suggesting that was the tip of a projectile. On the other hand, a number of 400,000 year old wooden projectile spears were found in Schoningen in northern Germany. It is thought to have been made by the Neanderthals ancestors, Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis. In general, projectile weapons are most commonly associated with H. sapiens.

The lack of projectile weaponry is an indication of the different methods of subsistence rather than inferior technology or abilities. The situation is identical to the native Maori of New Zealand – Modern Homo sapiens, who also rarely threw objects, but used spears and clubs instead. However, the tools may have been raised above our ancestors carnivore local competition – along with fire and language and allowed us to develop imagination and other cognitive skills and even some entertainment – all of which could have helped the rise of spirituality.

Spiritual Development

Although much has been made of the Neanderthal's burial of their dead, their burials were less elaborate than those of anatomically modern humans. The interpretation of the Shanidar IV burials, including flowers, and therefore be a form of ritual burial, has been questioned. In addition, five of the six flower pollens found with Shanidar IV are known to have had "traditional" medical uses, even among relatively recent "modern" people. In some cases Neanderthal burials include grave goods, such as bison and aurochs bones, tools, and ocher pigment. We believe that this shows evidence of increased spirituality in Neanderthals. Neanderthals also performed many sophisticated tasks which are normally associated with humans.

For example, we know that controlled fire, constructed complex shelters and skinned animals. A trap excavated at La Cotte St. Brelade in Jersey testifies to their intelligence and success as hunters. Particularly interesting is the femur of a bear hollow with holes that may have been deliberately bored into it. This bone was found in western Slovenia 1995, near a Mousterian fireplace, but its importance is still controversial. Paleoanthropologists Some have hypothesized that it was a flute, while others believe it was created by accident by another bear chewing action. Pendants and other jewelry showing traces of ocher tint deliberate grooving have also been found more Ahead lies, especially in France, but whether or not they were created by Neanderthals or transferred to them by Cro-Magnon is a matter of controversy.

As regards spiritual development is concerned, is worth quoting from Roger Lewin "opportunity would have to be invoked in other cases, too many to explain the associations of bodies and stone tools of the alignments of the bodies, and so on. The evidence is convincing that Neandertals and probably other archaic sapiens, occasionally buried their dead with a degree of ritual that we recognize as human. The act of burial is probably one reason why so many Neanderthal skeletons have been recovered. "So we can see here and in chapter two that the development of spirituality was in archaic sapiens.

Habitat, range and destination of the Neanderthals

The first Neanderthals lived in the last ice age for a period of about 100,000 years. Due to the negative impact that the glacial period had on the Neanderthal sites, not much is known about the early species. Classic Neanderthal fossils have been found in a wide area, from northern Germany to Israel and the Mediterranean countries as Spain and Italy in southern England and west of Uzbekistan in the east. This area was occupied probably not all at the same time, the northern border of its range, in particular, have contracted frequently with the onset of cold spells. Moreover, the northern border of its range, represented by fossils can not be the true northern boundary of the area they occupied, looking Middle Paleolithic artifacts have been found even further north to 60 ° in the Russian plain.

Recent evidence has extended the Neanderthal range by about 1250 miles (2010 km) east into southern Siberia Altay mountains. possible hypotheses for the fate of the Neanderthals are the following: 1. Neanderthals evolved into a separate species that became extinct and were replaced by early modern humans from Africa. 2. Neanderthals was a contemporary subspecies which incidentally bred with Homo sapiens and disappeared through absorption. 3. Neanderthals never split from Homo sapiens and Most of their populations become anatomically modern humans between 50-30 kya.

According to the oldest view (# 1), Homo sapiens modern humans began to replace the Neanderthals about 45,000 years ago, as the Cro Magnon people appeared in Europe, pushing people into the pockets of Neanderthals regional, which held thousands of years, as it is today Croatia, Iberia and the peninsula of Crimea.

The last Neanderthal footprints have been found in samples found around a cave system on the coast facing south distance of Gibraltar, and dated between 30,000 and 24,500 years ago. The validity of such a period broad group recently questioned Neandertal is cornered. There is no certainty about the identity of human beings produces Aurignacian culture, despite the alleged spread to the west of anatomically modern humans (AMHS) across Europe are still based on the date of first controversial Aurignacian. Currently, the oldest European anatomically modern Homo sapiens is represented by a robust modern human mandible discovered in Pesteracu Oase (south-west Romania), dated 34-36 kya (In thousands of years ago).

human skeletal remains on the site Vogelherd German, so far considered the best association between Homo anatomically sapiens and Aurignacian modern culture were revealed to represent the Neolithic burials that sifts Aurignacian levels and subsequently, all major Vogelherd fossils are dated 3.9-5.0 billion years ago in place. For now, the expansion of the first anatomically modern humans in Europe can not be located by date of diagnosis and well-anatomically modern human fossils "west of the Iron Gates of the Danube" before 32 kya.

On the other , researchers have recently found in Pestera Muierii, Romania, European human remains from 30 kya that diagnosis had mostly "modern" anatomical features, but also had distinct Neanderthal features not present in ancestral modern humans in Africa, including a large lump in the back of the skull, a more prominent projection around the elbow joint, and an outlet close to the shoulder joint. Analysis a skeleton shoulder showed that these human beings, such as Neanderthal man, do not have full capacity to throw spears. Consequently, the exact nature of interactions biological and cultural differences between Neanderthals and other human groups between 50 and 30 thousand years ago is very close. A new proposal solves the problem by taking the place of the Aurignacian Gravettians as anatomically modern humans contributed to the later-30 kya Eurasian genetic pool.

Consequently, the human skull fragment found in the bank of the river Elbe near Hamburg Hahnöfersand once was radiocarbon dated to 36,000 years ago and seen as a possible test mixture of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. Now is the most recent Mesolithic. Lee finds in modern humans do Lagar Velho, Portugal 24,500 years ago, apparently mixed Neanderthal have been published.

The paleontological analysis of modern human emergence in Europe has been moving considerations of the Neandertals to assessments of the biology and chronology of the earliest modern humans in Western Eurasia. This approach, involving morphologically modern humans 28,000 years ago before accumulating evidence shows that variable from a mosaic of modern humans and archaic human and Neanderthal features. Moreover, mitochondrial DNA analysis has shown no evidence of Neanderthal contribution to the gene pool of modern humans. The study authors acknowledge it does not exclude contributions from other Neanderthal genes. They also argue that other genetic and morphological data also suggest the contribution of Neanderthal little or nothing. A study of Cro-Magnon mtDNA published in 2008 found that it was radically different from the almost contemporary Neandertals.

As we have said above, however, for us, is the least important was the exact relationship between Neanderthals and Cro Magnon we have physical evidence of burials for the emergence of spirituality in this era. However, evidence of more sophisticated beliefs, like the first cave paintings of Cro-Magnon men (probably with magical or religious significance) did not appear until about 32,000 years. Cro-Magnon also left behind stone figures like the Venus of Willendorf, which probably also means religious belief.

11,000 years ago, Homo sapiens had reached the southern tip of America, the last of the inhabited continents. the use of tools and language continued to improve, relationships became more complex. In the next chapter we will see the emergence of civilization From these principles to the industrial age and get to the essence of this work, which can be summarized in one sentence by CS Lewis "The story is a story written by the finger of God."

About the Author

Dye / Proto Matrix Maintenance- Fuse Bolt