Who Were the Neanderthals?

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1 release dates: February (12) 2012 Universal Uclick Meet Our Long-Lost Relatives Who Were the? About 70,000 years ago, at least four different species, or types, of humans lived on Earth at the same time. Modern humans are the only survivors. The were our closest cousins, and now they are extinct. What were they like? How did they live? The Mini Page talked with Dr. Rick Potts, head of the Smithsonian Human Origins program, to learn more about our mysterious Neanderthal cousins. Sculpture: 2010, John Gurche Photo by Chip Clark, Smithsonian s National Museum of Natural History In this sculpture at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, a Neanderthal woman sews clothing while watching her son. She is poking holes in the animal hide with a sharp tool. She will then lace pieces of hide together with strips of animal tissue. Can you see how she is using her teeth to keep the cloth tight while she works? Discoveries In 1856, miners discovered some strange bones. The miners brought them to an expert on the human body. He realized the bones came from an entirely different species of human. Since these bones were found in the Neander Valley in Germany, the species was called Neanderthal (nee- AN-der-tal). Tal, or thal, means valley in German. Although other Neanderthal bones had been found, this was the first time anybody understood that they were from a different kind of human. At first, people thought they were from a diseased modern human. Other finds showed that the Neanderthal truly was an early, different type of human. Time and place Although are now extinct, they were on Earth nearly as long as modern humans have been. Modern humans, or Homo sapiens (HO-mo SAY-pee-enz), have been around for about 200,000 years. lived from about 200,000 to 28,000 years ago, about 170,000 years. They lived in western Asia and Europe. art courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech As this Neanderthal skull shows, had heavy brow ridges and large noses. This art shows a Neanderthal group living on Earth 60,000 years ago. were great at surviving in the cold climate of Europe and Asia at that time. They knew how to build fires and how to make warm clothing out of animal hides and fur. They made shelters by sticking wooden posts in the ground and draping branches from post to post. They hung animal hides to make walls.

2 7-2 (12); release dates: February Surviving the Cold Bodies made for the cold When the were alive, ice sheets often covered much of Europe and Asia. Their bodies were adapted to cold climates. The average Neanderthal had a shorter, heavier body than an average modern human. An adult male may have been about 5 1 /2 feet tall. He would have weighed about 200 pounds. A Neanderthal body looked a little like a bowling ball. This stocky body helped them stay warm. There was less exposed area that could lose heat. John Gurche, artist / Chip Clark, photographer, courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History had large noses that helped them when they breathed in cold air. Big noses helped warm the air before the breathed it into their lungs. This exhibit from a museum in France shows a Neanderthal man in the Ice Age. A nose for cold Cold air is drier than warm air. When it enters our noses, it warms up and picks up moisture. When we breathe out, the moisture drops back into our noses so we don t lose too much water. This is partly why your nose runs in cold weather. Big noses are better at warming air and keeping it moist in the cold. Muscle men and women Next to, modern people would look like wimps. were very strong, with a lot of muscle mass. Just to survive, they had to be active every day. Experts say about 90 percent of their diet was meat. They had to hunt, prepare and cook the meat. Hunting hunted by getting close enough to animals to attack them with spears. Experts can tell that their spear points were not small enough to fly far through the air. Their spears were made to hit the animal from close up. Their bones show many breaks and fractures, much like the bones of rodeo riders today. These broken bones are signs they had close encounters with big, dangerous animals. Ready Resources The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week s topics. On the Web: humanorigins.si.edu youtube.com/watch?v=1vrkeslu2km pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-3.html At the library: The Time Warp Trio: Your Mother Was a Neanderthal by Jon Scieszka Early Humans by DK Publishing try n find Words that remind us of are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: AFRICA, AGE, ASIA, BIG, BONES, BROWS, CAVES, COLD, EUROPE, EXTINCT, FIRE, GENES, HUMAN, HUNTERS, ICE, LANGUAGE, MUSCULAR, NEANDERTHAL, NOSE, SHELTER, SPEAR, SPECIES, STONE. Could you survive in the cold? Basset Brown The News Hound s C A S E I C E P S N A M U H L E O S R A E P S E P O R U E A X F L I C B R A L U C S U M N T S I D A A O R E T L E H S G I T B R L M V N A C I R F A U N O I L E E E E E K C E C I A C N G S W O R B S S V E G A G T E S E N E G S R E T N U H E E S O N L A H T R E D N A E N

3 Mini Spy... Mini Spy and her friends are visiting an exhibit about. See if you can find: two letter D s basket gift frog snake muffin broom strawberry tooth teapot cardinal letter B heart letter A word MINI toothbrush pencil kite cat needle photo by Nic Adams Rookie Cookie s Recipe Simple Salad You ll need: 2 medium tomatoes, sliced and quartered 1 large cucumber, peeled, halved and sliced 1 tablespoon sugar What to do: 7-3 (12); release dates: February /4 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (optional) 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 3/4 cup water 1. Place tomatoes and cucumber in a medium bowl. 2. In a smaller bowl, combine sugar, pepper, salt and basil. 3. Whisk in vinegar and water to blend thoroughly. 4. Pour dressing mixture over vegetables. 5. Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving. You will need an adult s help with this recipe. Meet Jane Lynch Jane Lynch is the voice of a visitor from outer space, Miss Power, in a special episode of the TV series WordGirl on PBS Kids Go! The show, The Rise of Miss Power, deals with the problem of bullies who use words to hurt. It first airs on Feb. 20. It is part of a series of PBS Kids shows on bullying that will air throughout this year. Jane Lynch has acted in commercials, movies and TV shows, including Glee. She is the voice of Mrs. Johnson on the Disney TV series Phineas and Ferb. She was the voice of Gretched in the movie Shrek Forever After. She is also the voice of Nebula in the video game Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet. Jane, 51, was born in Dolton, Ill. She earned degrees in theater in college. She loves animals and has done work supporting animal shelters. The Mini Page Guide to the Constitution The popular nine-part series on the Constitution, written in collaboration with the National Archives, is now packaged as a colorful 32-page softcover book. The series covers: the preamble, the seven articles and 27 amendments the big ideas of the document the history of its making and the signers Perfect for classroom use! To order, send $9.95 plus $3.50 postage and handling for each copy. Send check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to: Andrews McMeel Universal, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS or call toll-free Please send copies of The Mini Page Guide to the Constitution (Item # ) at $13.45 each, total cost. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) Name: Address: City: State: Zip: All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category? Nathan: What do enjoy reading? Nancy: The Prehistoric Times! Ned: Why did early men draw pictures of pterodactyls, rhinoceros and other animals? Nick: Because they couldn t spell the words for them! Norris: What type of cologne did favor? Noel: After-cave!

4 7-4 (12); release dates: February What Happened? The mystery Why are we, Homo sapiens, the only humans to survive? What happened to the? Experts say there is no evidence that modern humans fought against the. brains were bigger than ours. They were smart. So why didn t they survive? Adaptability Modern humans are the most adaptable species that has ever existed. We can live everywhere on the planet, in the heat and in the cold. seem to have found what worked for them, and then they invented nothing else. They didn t adapt to changing conditions. They ate few plants, and even when they lived by the sea, they did not eat much fish. They sometimes created objects such as simple jewelry. They made good tools, but they didn t keep designing better ones. They built shelters. They invented things, but it may not have excited them like it does modern humans. The Mini Page thanks Dr. Rick Potts, director of the Human Origins Program, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, for help with this issue. Next week, The Mini Page is about your health report card. invented thrusting spears that worked for them. However, when modern humans came along with throwing spears as well, this gave modern humans an advantage in hunting. This picture is from an exhibit in the Neandertal-Museum in Germany. Social network We don t know if had language or not. Language has helped modern humans share ideas and communicate across distances. There is evidence cared for one another. They buried their dead. At one site, they had laid flowers in the grave. We don t know if this means they believed in an afterlife. It probably does mean that group cared for the person who died. There is also evidence that cared for wounded or sick members. This caring probably helped them survive longer. Modern humans eventually outnumbered. This could be one reason why the became extinct. Meeting our cousins Recently, scientists made an exciting discovery. They found Neanderthal genes* in some modern humans. This gene discovery means that about 70,000 to 60,000 years ago, Homo sapiens in Asia mated and had children with. The passed on genes that gave humans in that area immunity (i-myoon-i-tee), or protection, against certain diseases. This probably gave those modern humans a survival advantage over other humans. *Genes are a type of coding that is passed from parent to child. They can affect our bodies health and growth. Family resemblance Can you imagine what it would have been like to meet another species of human? What would your life have been like as a Neanderthal? The Smithsonian has a free app to show you what you might have looked like as another species of human. You can try it out for yourself at: multimedia/mobile-apps The Mini Page Staff Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist photo by Lisa Tarry Will as he is. photo courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Will as a Neanderthal man. Look through your newspaper for stories that show what it means to be human.

5 Read all about the in John Gurche, artist / Chip Clark, photographer, courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Distributed by Universal Uclick by Betty Debnam Appearing in your newspaper on. from The Mini Page 2012 Universal Uclick (Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-3 1 /2-inch ad promoting Issue 7.) release dates: February (12) Standards Spotlight: Who Were the? Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page s content and offer activities that will help your students reach them. This week s standard: Students understand the beginnings of human society (History). Activities: 1. On a piece of paper, paste a newspaper picture that shows a human shelter. Describe how the different parts of the shelter protect people. 2. In your newspaper, circle in red five things that help you stay warm. Circle in blue five different foods you eat. 3. Find three newspaper stories about people caring for others. Write a paragraph for each story describing what the people are doing. 4. Compare Neanderthal people with people today in these areas: (a) clothing, (b) diet, (c) body size and (d) language. 5. Use the Internet or books to learn about early Homo sapiens. Write a paragraph about how they lived. (standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) Supersport: Ryan Callahan Height: 5-11 Birthdate: Weight: 190 Hometown: Rochester, N.Y. Looking for a leader, the New York Rangers turned to Ryan Callahan. Named captain this season, the 26-year-old forward had earned the respect of teammates and opponents in his five NHL previous seasons. Flashing finesse and physical toughness, Callahan provides energy, aggression and offensive punch. He led the Rangers in game-winning goals last year (5) and power-play goals (10), and also delivered 224 body hits. That s from a guy who has called Gladiator his favorite movie. Through 44 games this season, Callahan was second on the team in scoring (32 points) and helped New York gain the division lead. Away from hockey, he enjoys country music, golfing and boating, and is a great pingpong player. But it s on the ice that Captain Callahan makes the biggest impact. (Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 7.) (Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 7, to be used in place of ad if desired.)