Synopsis Of 'How To Think Like A Neandertal'

Improved Essays
Source 5:
Wynn, T., & Coolidge, F. L. (2012). How to Think Like a Neandertal. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Synopsis of Book (so far):
Currently, I am about a third of my way through the book, and I believe that I a firm grasp about the book. The book analyzes the potential similarities and difference in the cognitive developments of the Neanderthals from anatomically modern humans (AMHs). They analyze these developments through Neanderthal actions and ways of life, all of which can be deduce from archaeological evidence. It is clear that Neanderthals are a distant relative of AMHs, both of share the common ancestor Homo heidelbergensis. The book emphasizes that they are different species, which is common knowledge. I must mention

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Although Humans and Neanderthals are very close relatives both have many factors which differentiate the two species one another.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Lone Survivors Summary

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages

    From the fossils he was able to obtain, Stringer speculated in his book that the Denisovans were indeed a sister group to the Neanderthals and split from the Homo Heidelbergensis far before the Neanderthals did. The fact that the Denisova fossil is the “most robust of all” signals that its the species with the most archaic traits (Mednikova 2013: 149). This correctly confirms Stringers’ theory about the old age of the Denisovans relative to the Neanderthals. The Denisovan fossil also correctly confirms Stringer’s speculation of Denisovans’ close affinity to the Neanderthals. One of the evidence can be that the transverse section of the hand fossil is linked to the third and fourth phalanges of a Shanidar Neanderthal as well as the left third distal phalanx of the Kiik-Koba Neanderthal.…

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Book Review of A Primate’s Memoir "I joined the baboon troop during my twenty-first year. I had never planned to become a savanna baboon when I grew up; instead, I had always assumed I would become a mountain gorilla". A Primate’s Memoir is an autobiography of a scientist named Robert M. Sapolsky, and the book takes place on a reserve in Kenya.…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Neanderthal Debate Researchers often come to a disagreement when discussing the intellectual capabilities of our closest relatives.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As the website of The History Channel says, "looking for the origins of mankind is a history of bone and tales they tell. It was in 1856 that the first bones of an ancestor of the missing man ... were encountered Neanderthals. "The television program, however, contradicting website States that Neanderthals not only have a brain larger than most human beings and had a greater sense of smell, they were around during the time of modern man, and therefore were not our ancestors. They are not a "real missing link" of a "forerunner of the missing man." For a clear refutation of Neanderthals as being something of a brute ancestor of ours, which is still paraded in the media and in school textbooks as evidence of the evolution of molecules to man.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    They are believed to have been a species in the genus homo that became extinct 40,000 years ago. Scientists also believe that we share DNA with them and that we’re closely related to them. An interesting fact about the species is that during their time, they made and used a diverse set of tools, were able to control fire, made and wore clothing, were skilled at hunting, and would occasionally create symbolic objects. One similarity between the Neanderthal species and the Homo sapiens species is that scientists believe we share 99.7% of their DNA or carry at least some portion of it. This basically means that us, homo sapiens, have Neanderthal within each of us.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Social Darwinist Theory

    • 2020 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Their brain size, along with apes, was thought of to be fifty times smaller than Shakespeare (Hollinsworth 1998, p. 40). Their intelligence was thought to be limited because they could not count the number of fingers on their hands (Hollinsworth 1998, p. 40). Their language also showed no justice or goodwill, but they were considered to be slightly more teachable than an ape (Hollinsworth 1998, p. 40). Scientists also stole the skulls of Aboriginal people and studied them in relation to ape and European skulls. They found that the European is not a direct descendant of the ape and the Australian Aboriginal but…

    • 2020 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Hominin Evolution Theory

    • 1736 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The hominin evolution theory is the idea of Homo sapiens sapiens (AMHs) evolved from a lineage of hominins in Africa. The purpose of the project is to determine the genus and species of seven skulls discovered by Dr. Musoma in Africa, Europe and Asia, approximate the age of each skull, interpret the evolutionary pathway of each species, and provide evidence for and against the “Out of Africa” theory. The purpose of the project with be completed and evidence on the “Out of Africa” theory will be found. Based upon the information left with each of the seven skulls, the remains can be identified with the appropriate genus and species. For all seven skulls, Dr. T. C. Musoma left the cranial capacity, location and the artifacts, if any, found with…

    • 1736 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There is enough information to back up the research that has been done by the scientist. The result also supports the hypothesis stated, that modern human drove Neanderthals to extinction through competition, due to the cultural associated advantage the modern human have over the…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Museum Reflection Paper

    • 1054 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When I went to the Smithsonian Human Origins Exhibit, it made me realize how much more I am informed about human evolution compared to most of the people at the exhibit. One thing was I saw on one the displays that Neanderthals were classified as part of the Homo sapiens lineage, which is not true. During our lecture you already told us that Neanderthals are not part of the lineage. Neanderthals are consider more like sisters than one of us. Also one of the speakers was saying how Homo heidelbergensis were 99.9% closely related to us, which is also false.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Genus Homo Evolution

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The development of bigger capacity of cranial vaults allowed complex thinking for species. This demonstrates the genus Homo evolving various anatomical features that benefited their style of living in a specific environment. Even after Homo erectus, brain sizes of species such as Homo heidelbergensis increased. Although species’ cranial robusticity decreased over time, the brain size constantly increased, which greatly expanded the omnivorous niche and complex technologies. The evidence for adaptations in the genus Homo in brain sizes hypothesize that extensive human brains support a stronger fit to the terrestrial and omnivorous…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Neanderthal Essay

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In human history, we came to find that there are many different species relating to the human species. One of these species is called the Neanderthals or also known as cavemen. Approximately 40,000 years ago the neanderthals lived but, they vanished instantly at a period of time. Not many people know why or how this happened, who really were the neanderthals and finally what they were like. Neanderthals were a species that branched off of our ancestral tree.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hominid Evolution Essay

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Neanderthals came after Homo erectus and began developing even more like modern humans because they coexisted with Homo sapiens. Neanderthals supported the Out-of-Africa theory because more Europeans and Asians contained Neanderthal DNA than those of African descent. In conclusion, Hominid evolution was a long journey but it would not exist without the three major Homo species; Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Kultur Vs Natur Essay

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Kultur versus Natur While German anthropologists rejected the theory of evolution, there was still an interest in understanding the relationship between Kultur and Natur. They rejected evolutionism because it “placed steric categories of human nature into a fluid continuum…” (Zimmerman, 2001, p. 69). Nature, to German anthropologists before the 20th century was perceived to be a “static system of categories that allowed them, in their study of natural peoples, to grasp an unchanging essence of humanity, rather than the ephemeral changes that historians recoded” (Zimmerman, 2001, p. 62). Furthermore, they understood that nature functioned as a timeless oppositive to culture and history (Zimmerman, 2001, p. 7).…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Homo Sapiens Essay

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The evidence that prove this was found in or around Europe from the sapiens. The tools found were pit houses, the first man-made shelters, stitched clothing was worn, and sculpture and paintings in caves was invented. These discoveries lead to proof of why H. sapiens were so closely related to modern humans. As Ember & peregrine stated (2007) “The upper Paleolithic period is also characterized by a variety of new developments: new techniques of toolmaking, the emergence of art, population growth, and new inventions such as bow and arrow, the spear-thrower, and the harpoon” (p.200). The way the species fought for survival was outrageous, sometimes they had to fight their kills Homo sapiens quickly took over the old world soon after Neanderthals suddenly disappeared and or went extinct.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays