The Ape’s Reflection? 369Finally, we see the first fossil skulls and skeletons that look almost indistinguishable
from our own species. Some of these “archaic Homo sapiens” are known from deposits in
Africa dating as far back as 500,000 years ago. About 90,000 years ago, skulls from Africa
(such as Klasies Mouth Cave in South Africa) are almost completely modern in appearance
and are universally regarded as Homo sapiens sapiens (our species and subspecies). Like Homo
erectus, early Homo sapiens spent most of its history in Africa, and finally migrated to Eurasia
about 45,000 years ago. There it came into contact with Neanderthals, and for about 9,000
years they coexisted. Mysteriously, Neanderthals vanished 36,000 years ago. Whether they
were wiped out by Homo sapiens or by some other cause is highly controversial. Whatever
happened, modern Homo sapiens soon took over the entire Old World, developing complex
cultures (the “Cro-Magnon people”) that produced the famous cave paintings of Europe and
many kinds of weapons and tools.
This brief review of the hominin fossil record hardly does justice to the richness and
quality of the specimens or to the incredible amount of anatomical detail that has been
deciphered. If it all seems like too much to absorb, just gaze at the faces of the skulls in
the Fig. 15.5. They look vaguely like modern human skulls, but they definitely show the
progression from more primitive hominins that creationists want to call “mere apes” (even
though they were all completely bipedal and had many other human characteristics) up
through forms that creationists want to call “modern humans” (even though they had
many distinctive anatomical features, like those found in Neanderthals, that make them a
distinct species). Anyone without advanced anthropological training and without biases
or prejudices can glance at these fossils and see the hallmarks of human ancestry.
FIGURE 15.8. Comparison of the profiles of a Neanderthal and a modern Homo sapiens. Although Neanderthals
had brains slightly larger than ours, their skulls were shaped very differently, with a much flatter cranium
that protruded in the back, prominent brow ridges, a bulging face, and no real chin. Their skeletons were also
distinctive, with much more heavy robust bones than any living human. Contrary to creationist claims that
they are just deformed modern humans, they are very distinctive and clearly not a member of our species.
(Drawing by Carl Buell)
Frankfurt
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