Neanderthals Differed From Humans In Their Chest And Breathed Differently - Alternative View

Neanderthals Differed From Humans In Their Chest And Breathed Differently - Alternative View
Neanderthals Differed From Humans In Their Chest And Breathed Differently - Alternative View

Video: Neanderthals Differed From Humans In Their Chest And Breathed Differently - Alternative View

Video: Neanderthals Differed From Humans In Their Chest And Breathed Differently - Alternative View
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Anthropologists have recreated the ribcage of our extinct brothers in mind and realized that they had previously imagined them wrong.

The Neanderthals were not what people think they are - not hunched over hulks. On the contrary, our extinct brothers in reason kept their backs straight and their heads proudly raised. That is, they had good posture. In this sense, they looked better than our immediate ancestors - Cro-Magnons.

Recent research by American, Spanish, and Israeli anthropologists suggests changing our understanding of Neanderthals. They are published in detail in the journal Nature Communications. Briefly in Newsweek.

Scientists have recreated the chest of a typical representative of this species of intelligent beings. And they saw what exactly and how different it is from ours - human.

Chests: on the left - a Neanderthal man, in the center - a modern man, on the right - a comparison of the chest cells
Chests: on the left - a Neanderthal man, in the center - a modern man, on the right - a comparison of the chest cells

Chests: on the left - a Neanderthal man, in the center - a modern man, on the right - a comparison of the chest cells. The bones for reconstruction were "provided" by Moses, a Neanderthal man, whose well-preserved remains were discovered in 1983 in the Kebara underwent complex in northern Israel.

The remains of a Neanderthal were found in a cave in Israel
The remains of a Neanderthal were found in a cave in Israel

The remains of a Neanderthal were found in a cave in Israel.

Moses - aka "the skeleton of Kebara-2" - died young about 60 thousand years ago. His fellow tribesmen buried him. They were buried, so the bones - especially the chest - were well preserved. Although the skull has gone somewhere.

Scientists scanned the bones of the skeleton, digitized and assembled into a single whole. The result is a virtual, but very realistic copy.

Promotional video:

“The differences between 'them' and 'us' are striking,” says Dr Markus Bastir of the National Museum of Natural History, Madrid.

“In Neanderthals, the ribs on the back side are strongly curved,” the scientist explained. - The spine seems to be sunk into the chest - much deeper than a human. Vertebral bend - where the vertebral column connects to the pelvis, in Neanderthals, on the contrary, is not so pronounced. Due to these anatomical features, our extinct brothers in mind were simply forced to keep straight.

The ribs on the back of the Neanderthal are strongly curved
The ribs on the back of the Neanderthal are strongly curved

The ribs on the back of the Neanderthal are strongly curved.

But the most interesting thing is that the Neanderthals breathed differently from their Cro-Magnon counterparts. Again, due to differences in the structure of the chest. In the Neanderthals, it expanded strongly in the lower part. The ribs were located more horizontally than in humans. From which scientists have made two conclusions.

First, a wider rib cage accommodated more organs - for example, the lungs of increased capacity. That is, Neanderthals breathed deeper, consuming more oxygen.

Second, the ribcage did not expand on inhalation and did not contract on exhalation. Neanderthals breathed in and out with the lower part - that is, through the diaphragm. From the side it seemed that they breathed exclusively from the stomach.

The revealed features made Neanderthals stronger and more resilient - they made it possible to use muscles more efficiently due to the innate ability to consume more oxygen. Today's athletes would dream of such physiological superiority. But for some mysterious reason, the Neanderthals "got out of the way" about 40,000 years ago. And people are still holding on. Although at the dawn of evolution, they were in no way superior to the Neanderthals - neither in intelligence, nor skill, nor fertility. And they did not possess any outstanding talents.

Professor Kremer is one of those who recreated the neanderthal chest
Professor Kremer is one of those who recreated the neanderthal chest

Professor Kremer is one of those who recreated the neanderthal chest.

According to Professor Patricia Kramer, a professor at the University of Washington (Department of Anthropology and Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle) and one of the lead authors of the study, to acquire such a bizarre ribcage Neanderthals "forced" their way of life or Environment. Either they exhausted themselves with excessive physical exertion, or they traveled for a long time, or climbed high into the mountains, where they had to drive large volumes of air through their lungs to get enough oxygen. The professor believes: by studying the features of the body structure of Neanderthals, it is possible, if not to finally reveal the secret of their disappearance, then at least come closer to the solution.

So a Neanderthal could look face-to-face
So a Neanderthal could look face-to-face

So a Neanderthal could look face-to-face.

So - from the back
So - from the back

So - from the back.

And so - now. If it had not died out
And so - now. If it had not died out

And so - now. If it had not died out.

VLADIMIR LAGOVSKY

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