Article Propared by Evio Angelion How We Hounded Out the Neanderthals Soon ater

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Article Propared by Evio Angelion How We Hounded Out the Neanderthals Soon ater humans arived in Europe, Neanderthals died out. Was this because we had Tiving weapona? PAT SHIPMAN Climate instability has been a favourie candidate. Severe fluctuations from warmer and wetter to colder and drier, and Learning Outcomes After reading this article, you will be able to: back again, started about 45,000 years apo. Unil recently, Nean derthal sites appeared to show a pattern of progressive retreat t more southerly, milder locations, ending with their extinction Discuss the advantages our ancestors had that allowed them to replace the Neanderthals in Europe. about 27,000 years ago. However, improvements in radiocar- bon dating have dramatically undercut this interpretation . Discuss the factors that made our ancestors better hunters All well-dated Neanderthal sites have been found to be at least 39,000 years old and no southerly shift through time is evident. Besides, we faced the vacillating climate at the same time as the Neanderthals and they had survived similar cold * Discuss the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstose National Park as a model for understanding Neanderthal replacement in Europe. " Discuss the evidence for the domestication of dogs and how periods before our arrival. Some new factors were at work. it happened Discuss the advantages of the human domestication of dogs Our presence was one element. Did we force Neanderthals into extinction? Yes, buy not through violence or killing-once a preferred hypothesis. We were simply better at hunting than model for understanding how one invasive predator a similar rival comes from the reintroduction of they might ou umans are natural invaders, the mammalian equivalent of Burmese pythons, cane toads, and Asian carp. Our wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the US. Though wolves species came from Africa and invaded Europe about were integral to that ecosystem for millennia, they were wiped out 50,000 years ago. Perhaps surprisingly, this invasiveness maythere by settlers by about 1920. The effects of removing the wolf explain why we have outlasted our last close relatives, Nean-were striking. Coyotes formed larger, more wolf-like packs, while derthals, by tens of thousands of years. I believe that the key to elk populations soared, changing the vegetation ckose to rivers by our success as invaders lies in our partnership with a weapom eating young trees and shrubs. Pronghorn antelope populations with a wagging tail: the domestic dog. dropped as more coyotes preyed on their offspring: beavers disap- When carly modern humans first entered Europe, Neander peared from the park and songbirds declined in number. thals had been living there for roughly 250,000 years. They Reintroducing just 31 wolves in the mid-1950s transformed knew the terrain and ecosystem intimately. They shared many the ccosystem again. Wolves targeted their closest compettor, of our physical and behavioural traits, such as large brains, killing coyotes in confrontations over carcasses and consum- specialised abilities for making tools and fire, and methods for ing enough prey to hinder their survival. Coyotes avoided areas hunting the same large game. Gienetically, Neanderthals were favoured by wolves and shifted to smaller prey. Coyote packs so much like us that we interbred, albeit rarely. Yet the evidence fragmented and their overall population declined sharply. More is very clear that we thrived during the period of overlap, while pronghoras survived; elk herds diminished; and riverine vegeta- Neanderthals went extinct. Why? tion came back, encouraging the return of beavers and songbirds.

Explanation / Answer

1) The Neanderthals became extinct at 27000 yr ago at times when our ancestor were present. It is beleived to be that due to extreme climate conditions neanderthals shifted southerly to bear extreme climatic conditions.

But the new radiocarbon dating give the evidence of neanderthals present at 39000 years and without any southerly shift and at the same time there were episode of extreme climatic conditions which were beared by the neanderthals . This evidence makes the author comment that it was not the climatic conditions which led to the extinction of neanderthals and there is another aspect to this extinction story

2) Factors which made our ancestor better hunter than neanderthals are

3) With the Reintrodcution of 31 wolves in the yellow stone national park , wolves targeted the animals and food which coyotes ate and even killed them at confrontation over carcasses. This led to coyotes avoiding the areas favored by wolves and they shifted to smaller prey which was not targete by the wolves. Coyotes groups fragmented and their overall population declined sharply.

In the similiar way invasion by our ancestor where neanderthals lived may have led to their replacement as our ancestor were better hunter and skilled one . They surpassed all the abilities that neanderthals had and beacause of which neanderthals surrounding were damaged and their population declined.

4) Our ancestor had developed cognitive thinking and they started to make themselves better at hunting. developing projectile weapons was one way they became skilled hunters. Dogs acted as an aid for them in hunting and their presence gave them vital information. The benefits of domisticating a dog which was - providing faster pursuit of prey , the ability to track by smell and surround and harass larger prey so that our ancestor can kill them . hence it was useful to domisticate a dog .

It was done by providing these dogs with the requirement they needed . Our ancestor provided them food , shelter and protection and it return they became an aid to them in hunting . This mutual relationship led to their domistication which we observe it today.

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