Neanderthals and Homosapians?

[joshm]

Ok, so I was watching the Nat Geo Channel today and a commercial came on talking about how Neanderthals went exticnt and Homosapians didn't. What's the difference between the two?

[Bougainvillea]

We are homo sapiens. Neanderthals are...extinct.

[Lord Anubis]

Multiple differences such as:

-Large cranium
-stronger bodies
-outward jaw
etc.


A good example of the different skull structure:http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/picture-comparing-cranium-of-a-modern-man-to-neanderthal-man.jpg

You can get tons of info off of a quick Google search.

[Iron Man]

Well, if you believe in evolution, then we decended from a previously extinct species then there was a sudden split in the circle of life. Neanderthals simply couldn`t survive in the environment, and died. Thus, you are left with homosapiens.

[INFERNO]

Neandrathals are within the same taxonomic classification as us (Homo sapiens). However, other than anatomical differences (i.e. the numerous cranium ones), there are genetic differences (i.e. mitochondrial DNA differences) so the end result is while we are Homo sapiens sapiens, they are Homo neandrathalis, not members of the same species but are of the same genus. Also, I'm not sure on this view but there was a debate over whether they had a human language, by that I mean whether they had a means of communication that was deemed a language as opposed to communication (i.e. a linguistical debate) using the criteria for communication to be a (human) language. There are of course different cultures but part of that can be expected from the different environments and different intellectual capacities.

[staying_alive]

As everyone else has said, the major difference was the brain capacity (larger skull, etc.) and larger strength that homo sapiens had over the neanderthal.