Neanderthals are significant in the study of human evolution because they:

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Accepted Answer

Were a closely related species that coexisted with and sometimes interbred with modern humans. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) are significant because they were a closely related species that coexisted with modern humans in Europe and western Asia for thousands of years. Recent genetic evidence has revealed that interbreeding occurred between Neanderthals and modern humans, with most non-African populations carrying 1-4% Neanderthal DNA.

Being the direct ancestors of all modern humans is not supported by current evidence; Neanderthals were a separate species that diverged from the common ancestor with modern humans approximately 500,000-700,000 years ago. Being the first to walk upright is incorrect; bipedalism evolved in Africa millions of years before Neanderthals existed. Living only in Africa is wrong; Neanderthals lived in Europe and western Asia, not Africa.

Neanderthals are one of the most discussed topics in human evolution on the DSST exam. Their relatively large brains, evidence of symbolic behavior (burial of the dead, possible art), and the genetic evidence of interbreeding with modern humans raise fascinating questions about what made our species unique and how we interacted with other human species.

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