The paper ” Modern Humans and Neanderthals’ Genomes” is a perfect example of an essay on anthropology. There are several factors that have also remained in question such as the origin of man. There have been many attempts to explain this question and these have varied in their subject of origin ranging from archeology to biology and even theology. To date, there have been many archeological findings which resemble humans and may have been assumed to be the predecessors of humans. An example is a species H. neanderthalensis, which is thought to have a similar genetic material to humans with only a 0, 3% difference. Several articles have illustrated the way humans may have evolved from this species and the differences that exist between the two. Garralda and Bernard (113) have analyzed the variation in Neanderthals based on both chronological and geographical aspects. The article begins by stating the complications that are involved in fossil analysis. As mentioned above, it is difficult for archeologists to determine certain traits based on archeological findings and this article states that to determine the relationship between human fossils and those that have been found in the European Middle and beginning Upper Pleistocene (Garralda and Barnard, 113). One of the key factors that the article contributed to this uncertainty is the fragmentary nature of the majority of fossil findings. This aspect makes it very difficult to compare the detailed nature of this prehistoric species. The articles also emphasize the conflicting dates that have been found in the majority of comparisons between these fossils. Due to the inaccuracy that has been found in the fossil analysis, the article takes a different approach involving the geographical locations which Neanderthals are assumed to have lived.
Noonan also conducted research on Neanderthals mainly focusing on their genomic components. The paper focuses on new methods that are being formulated to isolate nuclear DNA components from Neanderthal fossils or remains. Researches that have been carried out in this field have been found to be successful and provide the opportunity for scientists to assess the genome sequence of these human predecessors. There were some technical issues in the experiment as there were doubts about the exact level of genetic material which can be attained. There were also issues with modern human contaminating sequences which substantially reduce the possibility of detecting the authentic Neanderthal-human sequences. The experiment also acknowledges data stating the existed of modern humans and Neanderthal lineages prior to that of contemporary humans. Through genome research there have been 5 groups which have been detected as illustrated in the diagram below:
There were also studies which illustrated that approximately 3% of all genomes in the Eurasian genes were similar to those in the Neanderthals. The study was able to trace the human genes to a small African population which is assumed to have later migrated to other parts of the word. These African species are thought to have existed approximately 200 000 years ago.
Other studies have been aimed at comparing the DNA of modern man and Neanderthals directly. These studies were raised by the notions that Neanderthals had been living in Eurasia for years, but were later extinct and replaced by a modern man who originated from Africa. The nature of this replacement or extinction of Neanderthals is not fully understood, however, the notion states that before extension they might have interbred with the Modern man. The study by Ovchinnikov, utilized microbiological techniques to assess the mitochondrial DNA which is maternally inherited and the data among Europeans whose DNA was checked showed that there is no archaic Neanderthal. In addition, the mtDNA that was attained from the European population showed to have some recent origins. There was also a study which illustrated that the direct genetic pool of modern humans was not from Neanderthals. The results of this DNA analysis were accompanied with numerous questions including the credibility of the test and its capability of illustrating the level of diversity that exists in the Neanderthal gene pool.
There have also been different comparisons between the fossils of modern and those Neanderthals and these were the main anatomical differences that were illustrated:
In summation, the majority of experiments that were carried out on Neanderthals and used to compare them with the modern man were based on observation and genetic studies. These experiments have been complicated by the difficulty in attaining genetic material from the fossils of these prehistoric beings. Further study is still required to clarify the diversity that existed in the gene pool of Neanderthals and the various interactions that may have occurred with modern man.