Unit 3 Paper

Neanderthals

            Neanderthals or Homo neanderthalensis is a sub species of the genus Homo that we have only fossil records of (Johnson). I find this topic especially interesting because this species is closely related to modern humans. It is believed that Neanderthals diverged from H. heidelbergensis, who shares a common ancestor to modern day humans, approximately 350,000 to 400,000 years ago and are thought to have gone extinct during times of climate change roughly 30,000 years ago (Wikipedia). The Neanderthal body structure was better suited for living in colder environments and may not have adapted to climate change very well, though there are other possibilities for their extinction ranging from competition with modern humans for food to the absorption of the species through interbreeding with modern humans (Wikipedia).

            Some things that I found interesting about this topic were that Neanderthals brains were larger than modern day humans, by about 10 percent, although it was thought to be organized differently (Wikipedia). Neanderthals were also tool makers known to use stone to make axes and spears (All about creation). Neanderthals lived in complex social groups and had their own language to communicate with each other although there is not a general agreement on the nature of this language (Wikipedia). One more thing that I found interesting is that there are projects underway to sequence Neanderthal DNA with the possible hopes of artificially inseminating a human female volunteer with an egg containing the Neanderthal genome to bring the species back from extinction (New York Times).

            In conclusion I found that Neanderthals were not nearly as different from modern day humans as I had previously thought but more of a separate species brought about by a long period of genetic isolation that could be contributed to climate. They were not so much the early ape people that I had thought as much as they were a human variation physically better suited to a particular environment.  

All About  Creation. Neanderthal Man.<http://www.allaboutcreation.org/neanderthal-man-faq.htm> accessed April 14, 2013

New York Times. Scientists Plan to Rebuild Neanderthal Genome. July 20, 2006  <http://www.neanderthal-man.com/index.html> accessed April 14, 2013

Wikipedia. Neanderthal.< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal> accessed April 14, 2013

Johnson, Michael D. Human Biology Concepts and Current Issues, Sixth Edition. Chapter 22 page 523. Benjamin Cummings 2012

Part 2

1. What one assignment or activity you performed in this unit are you the most proud of?

The evolution lab because it gave my the opportunity to be creative with my answers.

2. Why did you enroll in this biology class?

To complete the Science requirement for my AGEC certificate, I live in Bagdad and this was the only online option that there was to complete my certificate requirement.

3. Did you feel prepared for this experience when you registered?

Last semester I took Environmental Biology online, that was my only previous biology course sense Jr. high School, so no I did not feel especially prepared.   

4. How was your experience different from your expectations?

This course was much more complex than I had thought possible. There is so much information to learn that it can be overwhelming at times.

5. What can I do to help you?

You do a great job explaining things in a way that I can understand but it would be of great help if you could change the exam policy to open book.