Being Human: The Neanderthal Dilemma

Undergraduate

Who were Neanderthals, and how were they different from us? Since their discovery in 1856, they have fascinated the public with their position as our closest, yet extinct, relatives. For decades Neanderthals were portrayed as nasty, brutish, and passively lacking the talent and innovation that allowed humans to survive and thrive. Recently, they have become celebrated as our close cousins or even just another group of ancient humans. But what does modern science say about Neanderthal life and extinction, and what do Neanderthals tell us about ourselves? By asking the question “were Neanderthals human,” this course examines what it actually means to be human. Students learn the archaeological, fossil, and biomolecular records of Neanderthals, early modern humans, and other contemporaneous human relatives. They also learn the foundations of human evolutionary science, with a focus on the Middle and Late Pleistocene (770,000 to 11,500 years ago), when the genus Homo diversified into as many as seven species–including our own. SC , SO MW 2:35pm-3:50pm