What comes to mind when you think of a neanderthal? Even though perceptions of these ancient humans have changed drastically over the past few decades, it’s still likely that the word is synonymous with brutish, primitive, knuckle-dragging apes. The classic image of Homo neanderthalensis, the neanderthal, is that of a dim-witted savage, wielding a colossal club which it uses to bash its tribe mates on the head. 20th-century pop culture is full of these depictions, and the general public all over the world has come to know the neanderthal as a monster, a subhuman, more ape than man. The reality could not be more different.
Homo neanderthalensis was in fact as human as you and I – they lived complicated lives, they created music and art, they were exceedingly intelligent, and they even interbred with us, the first Homo sapiens. That’s right – it’s more than likely that your DNA contains that of the neanderthals that were roaming much of the Northern Hemisphere in the Late Pleistocene Epoch. These early men and women were just that – men and women. Although they belonged to a different species to our ancestors, they were just as human as you and I, only in their own way. Obviously, there are no living, breathing neanderthals around today, but we do know they coexisted with our ancestors. So, what happened to them? Where did they all go?
Today, we will be answering these questions and more as we take an in-depth look at Homo neanderthalensis, some of our closest cousins in the hominid world. We will look at many aspects of neanderthal life as we do so – their culture, their lifestyles, their evolution, and their appearances. Join us, as we take an intriguing trip into the lives, loves and legacies of Homo neanderthalensis – the neanderthals.
0:00 Introduction
2:37 What exactly was Homo neanderthalensis?
9:39 Evolution
13:06 Coexistence
17:57 Lifestyle
31:48 Paleoenvironment
37:40 Extinction
40:21 Outro
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Neanderthal’s are my favorite ancestors of ours. They could have passed for “modern” humans today.
Good video
Why did the Neanderthals go extinct???…
It was due to The HomoErectile Dysfunctionism….
LOL hahahaaaa…😅😂
I think it's a stretch to assume that interbreeding indicates peaceful relations. It could just add well indicate rape occurred, possibly after intertribal warfare.
I am really enjoying your videos on our ancestors. I was excited to see a new video up this morning!! Thanks for putting in the time and effort into researching and sharing your findings into our history. This is one field that I find very interesting, and is one of the coolest exhibits to visit at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in my opinion.
Do we know if Neanderthals domesticated any types of animals?
Also about 70k years ago, modern humans were almost wiped and that event had to really impact any other humanlike species around at that time
22:55 How did they "boil" food if they didn't have containers appropriate for boiling, like those made with pottery, let alone with metal which they were without. I'm aware of boiling things by digging a hole, filling it with water, and then heating stones via fire, which they'd then put into that water. However, surely they didn't use that inefficient method all the time, and I don't think it wouldn't have worked very well for broths, soups and stews, as it would mix with the dirt in the whole.
What if: Sasquatsch, Big Foot, Yeti are the other species of mankind or one of the last who lived alongside mankind fo a while??? 😉❤️💋💋💋
No, Neanderthals were never vegetarian, subsisting on "wild mushrooms, various species of mosses, and pine nuts…" 22:20 That could never work as mushrooms and moss have almost no nutrient value, and nuts are not complete protein. Also, during the ice age, there used to be this thing called winter, and it killed the plants for much of the year.
Nearly every modern drawing or painting of Neanderthal/ early homo Saipan's has a plethora of different animals in close proximity.
I wonder what it was really like?
may be there was some epidemic to which our forefathers were better immuned ,again natural selection worked silently but decisively
Outstanding video. Thank you brother…
Seems like a great video, but due to that unnecessary useless distracting music, I can't watch this.
What a coincidence "Homo Neandrethalensis" was my nickname in highschool
It's weird as the Neanderthals very much look like some Finnish peoples faces
idk man that skull looks way different even the teeth of neanderthals and denisvons something is off
Imagine being better adapted to a certain environment, but perishing as species anyway.🤦🏾♂️
If modern humans have neanderthal in their DNA, are neanderthals extinct? They live on in us.
Nicely Done.
The disease theory doesn't hold up BECAUSE there were already sapiens living with Neanderthals and interbreeding. Meaning…we would see evidence of disease on both Neanderthal and sapiens that predate the newcomers with the diseases. Not all, mind you, but a good sized mix.
Super interesting! Can't wait for the next video!!
2.4 for me
Evolution
How many years must pass until no-one has any Neanderthal blood in them Until then I would say they aren't extinct
My sister had her DNA tested and what it told her is that she had 3% Neanderthal. I assume I am nearly the same. I think that is a bit higher than normal but found in our family ancestry we are primarily from the Neanderthal regions of Germany, Switzerland, and France with some small contributions from Ireland and England. Makes me wonder if that explains my sister's results.
You’re a picture of Neanderthals is a little exaggerated Pablo, who won the Nobel prize in anthropology for his DNA evidence said it brilliantly Neanderthals had a 300,000 year Headstart on Homo sapiens, but they never seemed to be able to catch up their art. The music was much more primitive than ours Never caught up in 300,000 years Headstart he said this last year and from all my readings he was correct so they were more primitive than we are. The spears were more primitive than ours. They never accomplish being able to use projectile weapons to keep themselves safe they were big and strong, and they ran right up to the animal and killed them that way, their art was nice sophisticated as were the tools. They were not knuckle dragging beast, but they were not as intelligent as Homo sapiens and to infer that they were is misleading.
Do you think they were really called "flatheads" by homo sapiens? Lol
Were there any trans 😮
I don’t know why you’d think their clothing was poorly made. I’m sure it would have been finely crafted. They were not stupid . To survive in such a difficult environment it would have been necessary
The attempt to classify Neanderthals as a different species in spite of DNA evidence to the contrary is going to be applied to other types of humans we don't like, such as Africans or Asians. Some folks say Native Americans are a different species. For this reason I don't like the designation Homo neanderthalensis and much prefer the designation Homo sapiens neanderthalensis because I am a Jew. With a memory.
Homo Neanderthals are still among us. They've just phased out by inter breeding after all those years. We are their descendants… My theory…😊
Homo sapiens was still black-skinned, when they moved into the Neandertal regions. Taller may be, but not white (yet)
Neanderthals put the sapian in homosapian
Some of us just need but look in the mirror.
Very Eurocentric perspective. What about the Chinese? Did they interbreed with Neanderthals??🤣
An encounter between species may have been like my fathers reaction to hippies moving in down the road…he liked the girls but thought the guys were worthless….mushrooms might be hallucigenic but yummy. Thanks for your work, it's fun to learn.
What if they were all wild looking, but had voices like Mike Tyson? Run away, run away….
I remember a school janitor who looked like he stepped out of the pages of a NatGeo article about Neanderthals.
This might sound dumb.. but when I think of Neanderthals I always think of Vikings. 🪓⚔️