Problem
Bio Anthropology Questions
A. How do pre-modern humans compare anatomically with earlier species, such as Homo erectus? How do they compare with modern Homo sapiens?
B. Why are Middle Pleistocene hominins so difficult to classify? Further, why is there so much disagreement about naming species during this time period?
C. What is the overall popular conception of Neandertals ? Do you agree with this view? (Cite both anatomical and archaeological evidence to support your conclusion.)
D. What evidence suggests that Neandertals deliberately buried their dead? Do you think the fact that they buried their dead is important? What other novel cultural behaviors do Neandertals demonstrate?
E. How are species defined, both for living animals and for extinct ones? Use the Neandertals to illustrate the problems encountered in distinguishing species among extinct hominins. Contrast specifically the interpretation of Neandertals as a distinct species with the interpretation of Neandertals as a subspecies of H. sapiens.