Mysterious disappearance of the Neanderthals

Abstract

Neandertalci su hominidi koji su naseljavali Zemlju u periodu od 400,000 godina. Pretežno su obitavali na prostorima Europe te Zapadne Azije. Prije 27,000 godina, gubi im se trag te se danas smatraju izumrlima. Njihov način života te građa su bili oblikovani surovom klimom te okolišem koji je bio uobičajen u pleistocensko vrijeme na Zemlji. Bili su veoma snažni i imali veliku mišićnu masu. Zbog tog razloga su trebali i veliki unos kalorija, velike lovine. Imali su oruđe i oružje te su proglašeni karnivorima, odnosno mesožderima. Prije 40,000 godina, na prostore Europe stiže Homo sapiens te kroz neko vrijeme stiže i do teritorija neandertalaca. Postoje samo nagađanja o njihovom susretu te životu nakon susreta. Nedavna istraživanja genoma neandertalaca sugeriraju veliku bliskost našem genomu te čak mogućnost interbreedinga. Teorije koje se predlažu oko nestanka neandertalaca uključuju; promjene u okolišu, kompeticiju sa suvremenim ljudima te genocid. Znanstveni svijet se nije izjasnio u potpunosti po pitanju navedenih teorija, no pretežito naginje teoriji krvave kompeticije sa suvremenim čovjekom.The Neanderthals were hominids that habituated Earth in period of 400,000 years. They preferably maintained parts of Europe and West Asia. Since 27,000 years ago they are nowhere to be found and nowadays are considered extinct. Their way of life and the way they were physically built were shaped by harsh environmental and climate changes. They were very strong with great muscle mass. That was the main reason they needed large amounts of calories, large prey. They were well equipped with weapons and tools, and are considered to be carnivores. Homo sapiens arrived 40,000 years ago, on the plains and hills of Europe and in some time made it all the way to the Neanderthal’s territory. There are guessing about the way they’ve met and their lives after the meeting. Recent Neanderthal genome researches suggest that they were genetically very close to us and that there are possibilities of interbreeding. Neanderthal extinction theories that are suggested are; harsh environmental conditions, competition with modern people, and genocide. Science world has not been concrete about those theories but they are leaning towards theory about bloody competition with modern man