User:KirstenSW821/Neanderthal anatomy

Article Draft
My contribution to the Lead Section in the article:

This robust build was an effective adaptation for Neanderthals, as they lived in the cold environments of Europe. In which they also had to operate in Europe's dense forest landscape that was extremely different than the environments of the African grassland plains that Homo sapiens adapted to with a different anatomical build.

Neanderthal teeth also serve as a point of recognition in their anatomy. This is because Neanderthal teeth illustrate non-primitive accounts, and different frequencies when in comparison to modern humans. The research behind Neanderthal teeth morphology show that it is a unique characteristic and evolutionary trait specifically only found within Neanderthals.

My addition to the "Infection" section:

Further evidence of infections on Neanderthal anatomy are seen through ear infections due to the fact that their Eustachian tubes are flat. In comparison to modern humans, when infants grow up to become adults their Eustachian tubes become angled to allow for easy drainage of the ear and for bacteria to not grow in the ear. Based on evidence from Pagano, Márquez, and Laitman's study, Neanderthal’s ear canals never angled down when they aged, as compared to modern human adults, so their Eustachian tubes remained flat throughout their childhood and adulthood. As a result of this, Neaderthals were more prone to ear infections which can even cause hearing loss. Today, Neanderthal ear infections are typically seen in their anatomy by bone growths on their skulls that were caused by the ear infection commonly known as “swimmer’s ear.” A study from Trinkaus, Samsel, and Villotte's research article found that 48% of their 77 Neanderthal skull sample size showed that there were bone growths on the skulls to indicate the influence of “swimmer’s ear” infection.

How I would change this section and paragraph:

European Environment Effects:
While Homo sapiens lived on the open African grassland plains, Neanderthals lived in the densely forested landscapes of Europe. Savanna grasslands compared to forested landscapes are extremely different environments. Looking at Neanderthal anatomy, it is already noted that Neanderthals have shorter legs, particularly in the tibia and fibula leg bones below the knee, compared to Homo sapiens. Neanderthals adaption to the colder environments of Europe are seen with having shorter legs.

The shorter legs also brings up evidence for other abilities that Neanderthals were better suited for in Europe due to the dense, cold forests. One of these abilities that Neanderthals have for the cold environments of Europe during 2000,000 - 40,000 years ago, is that they have long toes. Along with longer toes, Neanderthals are found to have longer heel bones than when compared to Homo sapiens’ heel bones. The Neanderthal anatomy, is more suited for the cold environments of Europe, as seen with their longer toes and longer heel bones, because it made them well-suited for hiking, hunting, and even sprinting in the hilly and forested environments that Europe had to offer.

A section I'd like to add:

Lead:
The morphology of Neanderthal teeth based on modern humans:


 * Main resource for this topic is found in the peer-reviewed scientific journal about the morphology of the enamel-dentine junction in Neanderthals. The topic of this journal article covers the morphology of dental trends found in Neanderthals. I noticed that there was a picture of teeth within the article, but there was not a section that discusses teeth for the anatomy of Neanderthals, and thus believed that this source and a few sentences from it could improve this article
 * The other main source I have for this topic comes from an Anthropology Magazine about Neanderthal Diet - From Teeth to Guts. It describes in short detail the morphology of Neanderthal teeth, and the food that is related to their diet. For this section though, I was mainly focusing on the teeth morphology and the reference articles it has.

Article body:
I would begin a new section specifically about teeth morphology in Neanderthals, and simply name the section Teeth.

Beginning Sentences:

Teeth
Looking at teeth morphology is important within Neanderthals, because their teeth represent a unique morphology that is a specifically derived trait within their species. When looking at Neanderthals compared to modern humans, or Homo sapiens, Neanderthals have a distinct dental morphology that is unique compared to modern human's dental frequency patterns. Along with this, a Neanderthal's mandibular presents unique characteristics that are different from Homo sapiens. When comparing Neanderthal dental morphology, and their specific characteristics to evolutionary traits, researchers have found, that even when compared to Homo erectus, a Neanderthal's mandibular still presents a distinctive dental morphology. This finding conveys that Neanderthal teeth were not primitive renditions, like Homo erectus, but instead signify that Neanderthal teeth were a derived trait within their species. Another study calculated crown creation time, and molar eruption age, and found that standard development variables like cuspal enamel thickness, and long-period line tendencies, are also unique characteristic frequencies within Neanderthals compared to modern humans. In the studies sample size of 90 permanent teeth from 28 different Neanderthals, and 39 permanent teeth from 9 different Homo sapiens fossils, it revealed that Neanderthals have a thinner cuspal enamel that was formed in a shorter amount of time. The scientists found that since Neanderthals had a thinner enamel, it was in relation to having a lower long-period line periodicity and a faster extension rate, which resulted in lower crown creation times.

Neanderthals lived in the cold environments of Europe, so their diet mainly consisted of meat, but recent studies found that some groups of Neanderthals were eating nuts, edible fungus like mushrooms, and moss with no indication of meat. Looking strictly at tooth-based resources for information of a Neanderthal's diet and its effect on the teeth morphology is to look at hardened tooth plaque that contain microscopic remains. Tooth plaque on Neanderthal's teeth represent a meat-heavy diet of wild animals.