Neanderthal: How would they look like today, if they lived among us

For 40,000 years, Homo Sapiens (man the wise) was the only human species walking on Earth. Neanderthals and the mysterious Denisovan (man of Denisova) are our closest ancient relatives.

The Neanderthals (species of Homo Sapiens, which is likely to genetically survived the modern man), disappeared about 400,000 years ago, and Denisovan – a much more vague species of archaic man of the genus Homo, which was separated from the evolutionary line of Neanderthals – disappeared about 430,000 years ago.

Of the plenty of fossils, we know that the Neanderthals were on average slightly shorter than us, more pronounced, with larger heads, shorter legs and wider hips.

Their skulls show that they had room for a larger brain than modern people and today they would be distinguished for their huge united eyebrows and small fronts.

Not so different …

Although our ancient ancestors disappeared thousands of years ago, some scattered traces of their DNA passed on to today’s people. MailOnline asked the experts to outline how people would look like the Neanderthals and Denisovan had not disappeared and lived among us today.

Investigations, with the help of artificial intelligence, have shown that the prehistoric inhabitants of the earth may not have been so different from modern people today.

Obviously, a modern Neanderthal would look quite like the modern man, but would distinguish between the crowd for his slightly more intense features.

Professor John Hawks, an anthropologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told MailOnline: “We know no normal trait that makes Neanderthals special. Almost every natural characteristic of Neanderthals overlaps in its variant with our own today, at least to some extent. ”

This means, according to the professor, that they would not look like the people of the caves, but rather with a slightly different variant of today’s people.

On the other hand, as few things have been made known, the Denisovan They are a greater mystery for science.

Just this month, scientists recognized Denisovan’s first skull. On this basis, experts believe that Denisovan would have a wide face with heavy, flat cheeks, wide mouths and a large nose.

Also, based on some few bone fragments found, they would be extremely large and much more muscular and strong than the weakest Homo Sapiens.

Indeed, according to Dr. Hugo Zeberg, a geneticist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Denisovan’s genes are responsible for adapting the Tibetans at high altitude, and “passed” lips in the populations of Latin America. “

How would it be adapted to modern society

Unlike modern people, Neanderthals and Denisovan did not evolve to be social as they lived in small, quite secluded groups.

According to studies in their genes, they were less flexible cognitive, had greater difficulties in tongue processing and did not have genes associated with self -knowledge, creativity and behaviors aimed at the beneficial effect of others.

That is why they would have problems with adaptation to the obligations and the environment of “over -social” modern everyday life.

If they lived among us today, Neanderthals and Denisovan would be “antisocial” in relation to the extroversion of modern man, more independent and would find it difficult to live in big cities.

If these species had not disappeared, they might continue to cross and further mix our genes. “In a way they never disappeared. We were merged! ” Dr. Zeberk.